I remember reading some quotes from that person you're talking about. They should have tried being one of children of pioneers who crossed mountains, rivers, deserts to get to their future homes. And then it was a struggle to grow/acquire food to prevent starvation.
Young people today simply don't understand how easy it is to live today compared to just over fifty years ago when it was a pretty good life.
And crossed oceans, too. On many wooden vesselcrossings, 1/4 or even moew qould die.
Upon arrival at their destination, they usually had another leg of their journey, and finally the absolute urgent need to erect shelter, before the first winter hit them.
The image of an adult, slapping a difficule teenager, to get attention for the urgent tasks at hand, makes sense to me.
It had to be an all-out family effort, just to stay alive under many rugged conditions.
Can you picture a kid telling his father/mother EFF U, when asked to help with vital work, on the prarrie?