Why is spanking a child so wrong in today's world?

Answer 1

because it can lead to physical abuse and there are many other more humane methods of punishment

Answer 2

These days spanking treads a very fine line between corporal punishment and abuse. It seems that some parents can't spank properly and leave bruises and other marks that last for days on the child. This IS abuse.

However, a properly administered spanking that doesn't leave marks but does leave a lasting reminder in the child's mind of the consequences of the behaviour is not and should not be considered abuse but "corrective" discipline.

There is a lot of hype in some print media about spankings causing violent behaviour later in life but I have yet to evidence of that. I was punished as a child (when I deserved it) and I am not violent or abusive. So as far as I am concerned spanking is not abuse.

The abuse is when the person allows the action to get out of control. As a point of interest a spanking is only administer with the hand - any implement used other than that it is considered to be a belting, beating, flogging etc.

So as far as I am concerned, spanking isn't wrong its just that the people abusing the term have given it a bad name.

Answer 3

Blame Dr. Spock! There was a movement in the 80's when Dr. Spock wrote a book about it and after that it was everywhere.....parents became soft and were told that spanking would damage a childs emotions and all this crap. Suddenly children were no longer accountable for anything they did as they come into adolecence because everything is blamed on poor parenting. When spanking became viewed as abuse and parents became consumed with being more their childs friend than teacher and leader it all went to hell. Now many parents are afraid to spank their child. There is certainly a differance in a spanking and a beating. The way I see it spanking had been an effective method of disapline for 100s of years and I believe that you shouldn't fix something that ain't broke! Spanking is an immediate and decisive consequence to inappropriate behavior that even toddlers can understand. Now you are supposed to talk to them about the behavior and reason with them.....offer rewards and revoke privledges. The problem with this is that a 2 year old can't understand all that, the way he needs to. If kids arent taught that all actions have consequences good or bad from a very young age it is impossible to impress this upon them later. When our parents and grandparents were being raised they were disiplined consistantly with spankings and they learned consequences and accountability from a very young age and children in that generation had respect for the rules. By the time they were teenagers they werent going into their schools and shooting their fellow classmates. Today kids think they can do whatever they want without meaningful consequence and as we can all turn on the news and see this isn't working out so well is it? Don't let a society of new age softy parents preaching time outs and hugs change what you feel in your heart to be an effective disipline tool with your children. Let their kids grow up ruleless and they can be bailing them out of jail in 20 years. If you belive in spanking and can use it correctly and not abusively that is your choice and I belive it is a good one.

Answer 4

All I know is that I never spanked mine and all three have children of their own today.....they don't spank.....my daughter is a pediatrician and votes no to any violence. She says the children when spanked may stop what they were doing, but you want internal discipline within the child......spanking can not accomplish that. Further more, how would any child feel when being "hurt" by the people they love the most in the world.......never try to justify hurting a child...Just to add a comment from the guy who said he was hit with everything because kids are so obnoxious in today's world. The children in all of my extended families have NEVER been spanked and they are all polite, delightful and have a zest for living. Where does all this come from about all children are a pain the butt??????????????

Answer 5

I guess with the increase in the population more people are seeing that physically striking a child has become more of the wrong that normal. I know growing up I was hit with just about everything, belt, hand, wooden spoon and once, even a flip flop.

When I decide to have kids, I too will spank them. All I can really do though is hope that they will be well behaved. There are pros and cons to both sides of this argument, too numerous to list them all.

And one thing I do notice, which I beleive was already mentioned, is that kids today are rude and obnoxious. When I was in a store as a kid and needed to get past someone, I did one of two things. Being a very shy person, I would either go around them, probably down an aisle and way out of my way, or would say meekly 'excuse me'. Today, when I'm in a store, 99.9% of the kids I encounter pretty much shove me out of the way to get by me. It is very rare for me to hear a kid say excuse me.

I'm not sure if that is a result of the parents not spanking their children or if that is a result of parents not caring anymore.

As I mentioned before, I hope that at an early age I can instill in my kids a good heart and politeness. Hopefully mine will rub off (and none of my bad traits!!) on them and I won't have to spank them. But I will if I must. Why? Because that is how I feel my kids will respond to situations in their early life. If my child reaches for a hot pan, I will smack his hand and say 'No!' I just hope they learn from that, and not when they pull the hot pot of water down on top of themselves.

Answer 6

If you want my opinion then i think that what is wrong with people these days is they have taken the word of God out of everything. I have a daughter and this is what i do....If she does something wrong that i haven't showed her is wrong then i dont spank her the first time, i make sure she knows that it's wrong. Then if she does it again after i've already told her it's not right then I spank her on her butt. Not to physically hurt her, just enough to hurt her feelings because that's more effective than physical pain. Just make sure the child has stability in what is right and wrong. It can't be ok one day and not ok the next. Make sure there is clear communication between the mother and the father so that they will have that stability.

Answer 7

When people are in public and they discipline their child with a spanking, people consider it abuse and that person can get reported if seen by the right person. In todays world abuse is EVERYTHING. swearing is verbal abuse, not keeping your eye on a child for 1 second is neglect. It is rediculous.
In the city I live in a few weeks ago a woman had her little on in a car seat in the back, her keys in the ignition as she went to pump gas, while doing this someone got in her car and took off, she ended up in jail with thousands of dollars in fines for child neglet. Are you really going to pump gas and hold your little one at the same time, no.
I think some kids these days need a little more than a spanking, on talk shows they show 200 pound 4 year olds, 5 year olds that hit their parents and 10 year olds having sex, but not only that having sex for money. Where are the parents and the spatulas!
I dont think I would hit my child, because sanity runs in my family, but some kids need some work.

My opinion.

Hope this was in the direction you seeked.

Answer 8

In the past people spanked their kids for misbehaving and gave the reason for their actions as 'discipline' and the kids would behave because they didn't know what to do .. tv shows in the past were all about comedy sitcoms or politics .. there wasn't that much violence really .. some but not so that much ..

BUT in today's world!

Plenty of shows about how to stab your neighbour because he took your toy car or plenty of shows about revenge and retribution and how to break your mother / father's neck because they beat you when you were young (yes throwing your arm against a child is beating no matter how you cut it)

Let's face it .. in today's world kids grow up justifying their violent actions on their difficult pasts growing up being beaten by their own parents

Answer 9

Don't think "today's world" should influence decisions a parent makes regarding what is right or wrong for their family. Depends on who you are talking to as to whether spanking (not abuse) is wrong or not.

Answer 10

I am the mother of 4 boys, and I didn't spank my children very often. If my child ran into the street I would smack him on the bottom with my hand, if he swore at me, or stuck his tongue out at me, I'd use 2 fingers and smack his mouth. But I also told them what they did was wrong, and why it was wrong. I talked to my children even before they were really old enough to understand. All my sons turned out well, they are all adults now and none are in jail or in trouble with the law or drug users and none have gotten a girl pregnant outside of marriage. I'm proud of them, and proud of how I handle them as a single mom.

Answer 11

There is nothing wrong with spanking your child. I spank mine on their behinds....everyone should mind their own business. As long as you don't abuse your children a litle tap on the butt does not hurt them.