What's Your View of Spanking (Children)?

by minimus 83 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  undercover

  I posted on another thread about this...but I can't find it.

  Anyway...I think there are times that spanking is acceptable. Not that spanking should be used in anger or frustration. Hitting in anger is abuse, whether the child misbehaved or not.

  I told the story of the one time in my life that my father hit...and I deserved it. He had tried every thing else, but I was a stubburn, stupid teenager who refused to listen. The hit, not a spanking, but a back handed slap, got my attention and got his point across. He didn't do it in anger, he didn't do it out of frustration. I swear sometimes that he calculated it, as if he knew I wouldn't listen anyway. But, he didn't leave it at that. He cried and hugged me and implored me to not go down the wrong route that I was headed into. That happened about thirty years ago and I remember it as if it happened yesterday. Not the hit, not the pain, but I realized he did care, he did want the best for me. It made a deep impression (no pun intended) and it changed the way I respected my father forever.

  Hitting smaller children without first trying to discipline is not acceptable however. I think spanking should be a last resort type thing. With most kids, you'll find a suitable punishment before you have to resort to spanking.
• 

  Gill

  I beg to differ as to the 'lovely, beneficial, experience of spanking!

  In Sweden where spanking has been banned, they do not have the naughtiest children in the world and child abuse and deaths have dropped dramatically.

  I don't want anyone smacking me and I'm not going to smack anyone else.

  Can you not see the nonsense in 'I'm only hitting you because I love you!' Yeah!

  Use your brain to discipline and NOT your hand. It's the ONLY method that really works.
• 

  mrsjones5

  Actually I and my siblings were spanked (we called it whooped or whoopins), not often but enough to correct us and only when we needed it. As we got older the whoopins got replaced with groundings, which we hated and we would beg for the whoopins only because a whoopin took a moment but a grounding could last a week or more. It was sheer torture to have to watch our friends play outside from our bedroom window. lol
• 

  Gill

  Exactly, Mrs Jones. Exactly!
• 

  tetrapod.sapien

  in theory, i am against it. same with pets, like dogs etc.

  in practice, i can't say what i would do. i'm never gonna have a kid, so i guess i don't have to worry. but i've never spanked my dog, and he's a moral god fearing pup.
• 

  tetrapod.sapien

  If you don’t spank children and correct them they’ll grow up disrespectful!!!

  so, i take it you were never spanked then, hibiscus?
• 

  Gill

  I'm proud of you tetrapod.sapien. Make sure you tell him that if he's naughty you won't let him watch his favourite dog food advert on TV.
• 

  BrendaCloutier

  I was spanked as a child, but I feel it was appropriate. I was give choices... behave or I'll spank you when we get home. None of this being drug to the women's restroom during a meeting crap. My parents had a sense of respect for me and themselves. I was usually give 3 strikes.

  The "whoopin's" were several open hand slaps on the clothed bottom or thighs. Stinging but more pain from being out of favor with my mom. The spankings stopped at 8. They started around 4.

  I once "spanked" a nephew. He was hitting me with a stick. It hurt. I told him to stop because he was hurting me. His mom was right there and did NOTHING. He kept hitting me. So I told him if he hit me one more time, I was going to take the stick away from him and hit him with it!

  He hit me one more time. So I took the stick and hit him on the legs like he had been doing to me, but not as hard. He went crying to his mom. Mom said, you hit her and hurt her. She warned you and you did not stop. You deserved what you got.

  One time on an airplane I sat next to a young yuppie mom with a 3yo and a 18 mo babe. The three yo was spitting on everything and watching it run down whatever. Kicking the seat in front of him, etc. The baby was kicking and hitting me to the point that bruises were welting up! I finally told the mom that if the baby hit me one more time, I was going to hit the baby back again. The mom moved over. Then the boy started in. I told the boy if he spit on me, or hit me again I was going to do the same to him. He stopped.
• 

  tetrapod.sapien

  thanks gill,

  everytime i want to spank him, i just remind myself that i share a common ancestor with him, so i don't really have the right.

  his favorite movies are Baraka, and Never Cry Wolf. he's an odd one. he he.

  TS
• 

  Gill

  Cool Brenda! But I suspect that if you had carried out your threat Yuppie Mum would have had you arrested for assault and you would now have a criminal record!

  This is what I would have done. I would have 1. warned Yuppie mum to control her children, (God knows how she could have done it but...) 2. I would have pestered the stewardesses to find me another seat. 3) I would have screamed really loudly had the child hit me one more time. I promise you, those stewardesses would have moved you pretty sharpish!