Is It Okay To Spank Your Child?

... i was spanked a few times as a child and i'm sure it set me straight more than once. how about you? do you employ corporal punishment with your children? if you don't have kids, do you approve or disapprove of spanking?

... comments?

 

My personal opinion is that it can be okay but there's a fine line between discipline and abuse that is easy to cross if you're not careful. AFAIK, all the research has shown that spanking is overall harmful but I don't think those studies were well designed and had an obvious western bias.

 

... thanks for your reply, milquetoast!

... you've said it's okay for parents to using spanking in a responsible way to discipline children. but what about non-parents in an authoritarian role with children? for instance, could it be acceptable in some circumstances for a teacher to discipline a child with some form of corporal punishment?

 

I think It's okay to spank your kid , so many kids are spoiled brats now and get away with anything. It's up to parents to use discipline for thier kids but there is a line between spanking and abuse.

 

... thank you for your reply, Cookie-Monster ...

... you've said that there's a line between spanking and abuse. for you, what is that line? what is the distinction? when does discipline become deviance?

 

It's my opinion that spanking seems to cycle between generations. People that have grown up being spanked, tend to not want to spank their kids because they don't want their kids to go through what they did, whereas people that have not been spanked seem to be more open to spanking their kids, to a small degree.

I think with the world being overly politically correct, to the point of stupidity, there is a total lack of discipline towards kids by their parents and neither the kids or their parents seem to care, which leaves others to suffer in their presence.

 

Just wanted to know mechanic, have you any kids ?

 

... hi chrissy. can i ask why you want to know whether i have children or not?

 

Just wondering if you had kids what would you do to discipline them .

 

... oh, i see. well, no i don't have children. and if i did, i wouldn't spank them. i just wouldn't be comfortable with it ...

... how about you?

 

Mechanic I think If a child misbehaves they need to know they did and get spanked but lightly not belt to the ass or wooden spoon ect... just a simple slap to the arm or slap to the arm is enough. I was spanked very heavily and border line abuse but I also come from a european background which this is normal. I myself think that too many kids just get away with too much and embarass and insult thier parents these days and get away with it and it is wrong you should respect your parents and if you disrespect them you should know it.

 

... great insight, Cookie-Monster!

... thank you so much for your comment!

 

I would say that reason and teaching takes less effort and increase the self confidence in Your child, spanking is a brutality and only used by uncivilized savages. and You know how children learn, if You spank them they will passed along being bullies.

 

I don't think that is true Brent. I was spanked as a child and I didn't turn out a bully.

 

Worth a read: http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-46/page-15.html#h-11 "Every schoolteacher, parent or person standing in the place of a parent is justified in using force by way of correction toward a pupil or child, as the case may be, who is under his care, if the force does not exceed what is reasonable under the circumstances."

But i do not support it.

 

... interesting. thanks for narrowing the law down for us and putting it in this thread, Henry ...

 

Spare the rod and spoil the child!

 

Personally, no I don't approve. I did get plenty of spankings growing up. They scared the heck out of me. The worst one I had was when I was naked and about to get into the shower and my mom came in with a belt and spank the living crap out of me. It was horrible. There is a fine line between disciplining a child with corporal punishment and veering off into the direction of plain abuse. I don't believe in using tree branches, switching cords and etc. to get a child to behave properly or learn right from wrong. I remember reading a horrific story last year of a child around 8 years old being beaten so severely that he died the next morning due to internal injuries.

 

My parents always spanked me, if I was bad. It's the only way to teach a kid, if he/she's bad, so yes, I'll be doing the same thing, when I get children.

 

... thanks for your replies, Elmware, May102014 and BenBaker! and to all the rest who commented! some good stuff here!

... but to expand upon May102114's comments about specific methods of spanking and punishment, please allow me to put forth a sub-question to this topic. that question is this: for those who were subjected to physical punishment as children and those who employ physical punishment in the discipline of children today, what method was/is used? bare hands? or is an implement of some variety involved in the execution of the corporal punishment?

... in my case, when my dad spanked me he just used his bare hands. but with my mom, she would usually use the nearest utensil, which in some instances was a wooden spoon and in other instances a shoe!