Why smack your children ?

Question

I cannot understand why people smack their children. I have an 8 and 6 year old , have never laid a finger on them and they are the 2 most polite, obedient children you will ever have the pleasure to meet. They are treated with respect they deserve as people and they return the respect. Any problems are discussed and sorted by word of mouth. Would anyone that smacks their children smack their partner, their friends, their staff or boss if they did somewthing wrong ?, doubt it !. How could anyone want to hurt their children ?

Answer 1

a smack never did me any harm when i was younger.so yes,if my children are naughty they get a smack,and no i dont hit them like i would hit an adult,so i dont see how you can compare this.i suppose you think that we'd all like children like yours,but thats maybe because you spoil them rotten and give them everything they want.personally i'd prefer my children to misbehave and learn right from wrong,than grow up with a silver spoon in their mouth.your children may be good now,but they've got to reach their teenage years yet,and will most probably rebel,and throw things at you,dont come asking on yahoo answers for help then,my kids get discipline now,not when they're taller than me and will most probably smack me back.and as for would i smack my friends,boss etc,yes i would if they told me how to bring my children into the world.

Answer 2

I'm not against it - obviously serious abuse - kicking, punching etc - is very wrong and should be reported as child abuse.

But the odd smack on the a.rse if they are really playing up never hurt anyone.

My brother and I got smacked as children if we seriously played up, so did my BF and his brother and sister and we all turned out OK. Usually when I got smacked for something I never did it again!

I totally agree with the previous poster that a slap on the bum is sometimes like hitting the "reset" on a computer. Usually you've tried everyting else and nothings working and its the only way to break what they're doing and get your point accross. Its hard to use "word of mouth" when there's a full scale tantrum going on.

Children are all different. Some can be reasoned with or effectively "punished" by witholding treats, being sent to their room etc. Others need a firmer hand - you should see some of the little monsters I've encountered. "Word of Mouth" wouldn't even begin to cut it with them.

You're lucky that your kids are obviously so easy to deal with but like I said not all children are the same. You can't just use one method for all.

Its just another Nanny State thing.

Answer 3

Honestly, not all children are good. My son for instance... yes he is only 16 months old... but he doesn't understand the word no. I will try and detour and get him interested in something else... but he just goes back to doing what he shouldn't be doing. Time out is not possible for this young child... so i smack his hand and say no... then he gets the picture... i don't smack hard and I only smack his hand once... if that is the way he learns, then that is the way. Not all kids are good and listen when told no. Yes I understand that he is a little young still for understanding right and wrong... but hey thats the only way we can do it and it produces results. ANd I bet if alot of kids would have gotten a spanking instead of a "talk" then I bet they would have turned out alot better then they are now. Sometimes it takes that little punishment to make them see the error of their ways. I saw this lady at the store the other day and her son was throwing the worst tantrum ever and he looked to be atleast 5 or 6. She said that when they got home he was going to get a good talking too and she was trying to explain her "feelings" on what he was doing and he kept screaming "i don't care" "you aren't going to do anything to me" "shut up", now that child would have been alot better if she took him to the bathroom and spanked his little behind. When you don't punish most kids will walk all over you. Trust me, my brother did that. He wasn't punished at all and he walked all over my mom and talked back all of the time. LIke I said some kids need the physical smack every once in awhile.

Answer 4

Count your blessings; your kids may have an easy personality and some logical sense behind them, such as, knowing consequences---if I do one thing then this will happen. Ok, in this day and age parents are hassled with no energy, long hours (10-12 hours per day) work and not complimenting each other in the lines of household chores, discipline, after school activities, blended families and fifty percent are living together not married (singleosis). Some of the factors needed for stability are two people (used to be marriage) having kids between them and disciplining procedures were mom tried the easy way such as taking things off of them, corner, go to your room and some light paddling. Paddling was allowed in schools and if you got one at school, you would sure get one at home...usually. Then it all became abuse. Dads used to do the paddling..Some situations kids deserve a butt smack so if for no other reason, they remember ouch that hurt and it will hurt again if I do something bad!
We are going through a situation where a little two and a half year old ran out into the street and got hit and killed. As a person of the community, I cry because I have grandkids who are little and we are trying to get them to know that certain things are dangerous. You can talk all day long to a child, their comprehension is questionable. They understand but they have to grow by doing or experiencing. I can tell a child all day every day that a car or fire or knives hurt. Some kids it is easier to associate a swat on the butt with the talk so it sinks into the brain. I do not believe in beating or swatting a kid for every little thing because they get on the nerves. Sometimes a threat of a paddling works wonders. People are not hurting their kids when properly spanked....Thank you for reading...

Answer 5

there is a fine line between smacking to discipline and smacking to abuse. i was abused as a child and would never ever do that to any child. but i do have to say that i smack my children andi find it an effective way to discipline within the right reasons. i do not agree with the 'clip round the earhoile' business but a slap on the hand or bottom isn't going to do any damage
maybe if parents disciplined there children in a way that works then we wouln't have so many problems with teenage gangs, etc.
kids need discipline just as much as they need routine and structure. i am sorry but talking to an 8 year old like he/she is an adult isn't a way that i would approach. after all that child is 8 and a long way off becoming an adult

Answer 6

I would hope that nobody does want to hurt their children, but smacking them isn't about inflicting pain. When my children were small, they had a couple of smacks but it was usually to do with helping them to avoid a potentially dangerous situation. My children can't remember being smacked now and I don't think that I harmed them in any way.

Answer 7

I feel the same as you. I see no need to raise a hand to your child, the person you carried in your own body for 9 months, the person who you nurtured to life and gave birth to.

I think that some people just have no respect for their children - that is of course my opinion.

I like you, have nothing but respect for my child - who is four years old and I have never raised a finger to her. I show her respect and I expect the same in return.

People who hit, should try not to and they will see that the respect their child, will given back by the child.

Please don't hit - or smack - your child - it will only make the situation worse.

Answer 8

I understand why you wouldn't want to hurt your children. Then again I can talk about my little brother. My Little brother was never disciplined and I was. My mother spoiled me a bit and my brother a bit. My father disciplined me but not my brother. Well, lets see. My parents are divorced sort of now, and we live with my mother. Well, my brother is the most unruly, annoying little brat. He bascially undermines all of my mothers authority and has no respect for his parents what-so-ever. I think for some kids yes hitting them is a way to show that you are the parent. They do something bad, they feel pain. The conditioning speaks for itself.

Answer 9

"Would anyone that smacks their children smack their partner, their friends, their staff or boss if they did somewthing wrong ?" That's just it, if they could get away with it they would. The reason they resort to hitting their children is because they do not know how to handle their own anger. They do not know how to communicate effectively and take it out on their children. What they need are parenting classes and anger management classes but they don't think there is anything "wrong" with hitting...until the child begins hitting in school then they want to know how to stop the hitting...Children are not born violent, it is taught in the home. Parents are a child's first and most important teachers, when a parent hits a child they are teaching that child to hit.

Answer 10

Some kids are more sensible than other it genes, some kids need a smack the only way. but the issue is how far do you go. a light meduim smack when a child has done wrong doesnt do any harm for there own good.