should children be smacked ever?

Question

is it right to smack your child as an act of disciplin? what are your views?

Answer 1

Only if the behavior warrants it. If the behavior is something that puts the child in danger, causes harm to another or an animal or is disrespectful of others or the property of yours or others - then yes. Turn them over your knee and swat their little bums. It's better to swat now than to pay for bail or funeral costs later! Sure, their little feelings will be hurt ,and most likely yours, but if we don't get back to disciplining our children....? Think about it - what was the youth crime level 30 years ago? 50? Child endangerment laws are wonderful and I'm all for them - but we really screwed up when we went from extreme to the other.

Dr. Spock never had any children I ever heard of - so where did he get his "expertise?"

Answer 2

A smack on the behind, yes. A smack on the hand, yes.
Even a real spanking is good when it has to be done. But we as parents should know the ground rules.
Never hit them in the face, God provides a better place, is one I was taught. Though this shouldn't always hold true for an older child that has smacked some one in the face.
OR, for the ones that object to the "God" part try this; Never smack them in the face, Nature provides a better place.
When all else fails, spank.
Start early. If they learn now that bad actions bring on bad re-actions, you won't have much to worry about later on down the road.
You can't reason with a two year old. Smack hand or behind as needed.
NEVER smack in anger.
NEVER use a weapon, belt, flyswatter, shoe. Always an open hand across the butt. Legs are fair game if they move around a lot. But never above the butt.
These are my own rules that I used with my daughter and while she isn't the best of kids in the world, she's also nowhere near the worst.

Answer 3

In my opinion, No it is never right to smack your child as a form of discipline. Such an act doesn't really teach a child that what he or she did was wrong. I have also learned through personal experience that smacking or hitting a child only teaches them that hitting or smacking is acceptable. There are more appropriate ways to discpline a child.

Answer 4

Smack children? What age group are we talking about? What is the wrongful action that would cause them to get "smacked?" Where are you planning to "smack" the child? (ex; Face) Depending on the age group and how wrongful the act is, I would discipline my child to let them know that we they are doing in unacceptable. In todays society, you cant even fuss at your kids when they are acting up in a public place b/c someone is ready to call child protective services on you! Explicate the terms about and I can give you a better generalization! Thx Liza

Answer 5

I've always been a rather reserved child but on occasion like any kid i got little bratty. I was only spanked once in my life. It was because I wanted a candy bar in Target and continued the argument into the car and then actually grabed the steering wheel while my father was driving and turned it as hard as i could. I was old enough to know not to grab the steering wheel but young enough to not really relize what it could have done. We swirved and my dad pulled over and spanked me. Personally I will always remember that and personally i think i deserved it.

I really think spanking like any form of punishment is to make a child understand they have done wrong. Time outs are well and good, but ... everyone here has been a kid when my parents put me in time out i was off dreaming about dragons and magic and thinking of the last good movie i saw. If i was sent to my room I read. What is a parent going to say "oh hey please stop reading your being punished." (if I wasn't being punished I was reading anyway only it was outside)

Any type of punishment should fit the crime and no punishment will be liked. To be perfecty honest for me my spanking was a oh wow I really shouldn't do this dad got mad, the car swirved. Time outs were like a wow this is kinda pointless experience.

People who down right say you need to comunicate with your children, spanking is abuse. Well i don't think they veiw it right. Your not just wailing on you kid, thats not good, neither is excessive yelling or taking away priviliges to the point of they have nothing. Any punishment can be taken to an extreme.

My cousin who was spanked is, well a 4.0 honor student, one of my other cousins who was not spanked is also a 4.0 honor student. You need to do what is best for your child. But I also think that children are children and that parents guide them. Children should not disrespect other people or parents.

Answer 6

think that parents should be allowed to smack their children. I think this because this because if a child has done something wrong then they need to be punished and talking to them might not be as effective. However I don't think parents should go round abusing there children for no good reason and there should be some way of trying to stop them.
Physical and emotional abuse can be just as devastating on a child's development as sexual abuse. Yet so long as it is 'reasonable chastisement', adults are allowed to physically hit their children.
I think whole problem is one of definition. when someone says they smacked a child do they mean that they gave the childa sudden, sharp smack, or do they mean they smacked the child several times at one go?smacking several times is not smacking, its beating.

Answer 7

Are we talking about smacking in the face or the behind?? Big difference. I definitely think kids need their butts whipped at times, but I do not believe in smacking in the face. Also, Age makes a big difference. I don't believe in smacking in the face, but if I had a teenager that told me to shut-up or pi$$ off, then YES I would make an exception to the smack in face rule!! There's nothing that shocks me more than seeing a teen tell their parent off (by cussing, or saying they hate them) and the parent does nothing!!!! NO WAY. I think most of these cases were teens that were never spanked as children. They need to learn respect at an early age, otherwise they'll run over you every chance they get. So.... a kid--no I wouldn't hit in face, but a teen that disrespects me by mouthing off--yes, they would eat my hand.
Way I see it---If they're big enough to talk like an adult, they're big enough to get hit like one.

Answer 8

Yes they should. Whippings teach right from wrong. My parents whipped us all and believe me, when I thought about doing something wrong, I thought about the last @ss whipping I got and thought twice about it. I now have my own children and they do get spanked but only for serious infractions such as lying, stealing (though they never have), or violence of any kind. I don't believe spanking teaches that hitting is okay because I raise my children to know the difference. It all depends on whether you tell your children the truth and how well you explain things to them. You don't have to beat the hell out of them to get your point across. It's not necessary. Like my son, he loves his PS2. I know that if he comes home with bad marks or behavior issues, I unplug it and put it away and that hurts him more than anything. So you can use some other forms of discipline as well.

Answer 9

I was smaked, we all were smacked, we turned out just fine. In fact, studies show that grown adults who were physically diciplined are no more likely to react physically when angered than anyone else. Thats just crap Dr. Spock made up to sell his books.

Children who are spanked hit other children, and children who arent spanked hit other children.

So yeah, our son will get his butt smacked when reason and time out is not sufficient.

Now, hitting a child in any way when you're angry at it is abuse. You spank a kid because the immediate situation demands it, and because you love the kid and dont want it growing up into a monster like so many people you meet today. But spanking a kid when you're angry only makes you feel better, and does nothing for the child.

Answer 10

I am not too heartless to advise smacking children as a policy. I love the company of children. As a matter of fact, i am more at home with them, rather than with the grown ups. You need to spend more time with them, to really to understand how their mind works. Smacking is just a response arising out of your ignorance about the child's psychology. Treat the child responsibly and behave yourself with equal responsibility so as to inculcate it in the child. There will be no need for being stern with them. I am reminded of a poem, ( I cannot reproduce it verbatim). It is about the response of a father who is overwhelmed with a sense of remorse on being harsh with his child). The father looks at the play things handled by the child, as he ruminates over the incident in which he roughs up the child. He goes into his bed room. And there he finds the child fast asleep, with tears still smeared on the cheeks. The poem ends with an expression, what will befall us, if we were to be punished by the heavenly father, for all our mistakes.

I think we should not smack children.