Do parents spank their kids these days?

Question

My husband and I were talking about it. Even though I got plently of those growing up, I don't feel it's always the best way to deciplin a child. He thinks it is. What do you think?

Answer 1

I was spanked as a kid. I turned against it in college under the influence of liberal psychology and education professors. In fact from what they said I should be a neurotic mess (I was spanked in the most "dangerous" way--on my bare fanny).

Once I had my own kids I gradually decided that my parents were not so stupid and old fashioned as I had been led to believe. I am now kind of a nutty radical advocate of spanking. I know it sounds stupid and oversimplistic--but I really think that spanking is important.

And I think a lot of younger parents are spanking more. We are just sick and tired of all the spoiled brats and the Nanny 911, etc. nonsenses.

The idea that spanking is ineffective and harmful is a myth. It is something that grew out of the failed no-spanking social experiment starting in the 1950's.

I have actually spent quite a bit of time looking at the spanking research. All the studies finding "it will destroy your child and society" are at best inconclusive and at worst deeply flawed. Yet these are promoted as fact so much by the media and pop psychologists that it is now pretty much taken as fact. Even parents who spank often feel to the need to "only spank as a last resort."

There are actually very good studies that spanking is not only not harmful, but is the best way to get kids to comply with their parent's wishes.

You can see my review of the spanking research and literature at http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-GgIFACYzfqWx8YwvtspSWVmWzA--?cq=1&p=793

Answer 2

Yes, people still spank their children these days. There is a huge difference between a swat on the butt and a beating. I think in the right situation, it can be a tool of discipline. I feel it should be used as a last resort, the child should understand why, and it should not be done rashly in anger.

Some claim it is abuse. You can ask any local law offical and they will tell you otherwise. I have heard with my own ears a police officer tell a mother that she needs to lay the law down with her son and start spanking.

If you leave bruises, marks, ect then YES you can get into trouble. I would never, ever spank my child to that extent.

I am so sick of the government babysitting everyone and living our lives for us. Back in the day we didn't have the troubles we have now with the kids. Back then parents weren't afraid to discipline their children. Notice the correlation?

Answer 3

I'm sure as heck going to if it is required. I'm not talking about beating a child senseless but sometimes a swat on the behind makes more of an impression than a "time out" or some other meaningless punishment. I don't see anything wrong with spanking... it doesn't enforce a sense that violence solves everything becuase you aren't being "violent" about it (if you are doing it right)... and if you are a good parent you will be able to differentiate between the two for your child.

Answer 4

the difficulty with society immediately could be that oldsters are scared to spank their young little ones as a results of fact instructors and social workers tell them if we do to tell somebody or call the police. there's a huge difference in spanking and beating and achieved moderately never harm all and sundry. I have been given my final spanking around age sixteen and that i enjoyed my expensive mom till the day of her passing. i'm a minister now and tell mum and dad shop on with your heart while dealing including your little ones. Proverbs 22:6 says it ultimate. improve up a toddler interior the way he would desire to bypass and while he's previous he won't go away from it.

Answer 5

Just like any form of discipline, if used correctly it can be effective. In my opinion, spanking should not be used as an everyday form of punishment. I have 4 boys, and I spanked them when they were younger. ONLY when they did something that was endangering their safety however. They knew when they got spanked that they had done something really wrong, and it worked very well. If you spank them all the time, for everything they do, it will not be effective and eventually they will become immune to it.

The key to good discipline is consistency. Don't make idle threats, and don't make the punishment too extreme for the crime (so to speak). Follow through with what you say you're going to do.

Answer 6

The simple answer is yes. Less and less people will admit to it these days( The thought police you know).
Kids are a lot smarter than people give them credit for. You can't reason with a tot chucking a mega tan-tie, wait for them to finish, however long it takes. If the tan-tie doesn't work they won't try it as often. Don't reward bad behaviour. They learn very quickly that if I do this, that will happen. Always be as patient and consistent as possible. Avoid giving in at all costs.
Try to out smart the kid but don't be surprised if they get the better of you. You won't be functioning at your best all the time, especially if your sleep deprived. I actually enjoy trying to "get into their heads", trying to work out what they are thinking. Think of it as a sport. If you start stringing a few wins together the behaviour improves.
If after all else has failed, a quick smack on the bottom or the back of the wrist might get the message across. If you are consistent you will rarely need to rely on the last resort

Answer 7

People eventually take the natural course of behavior. The reason generations upon generations for hundreds and hundreds of years spanked is because it worked. Only in the last 30 years has this changed.

Not because we are smarter or know more but because a guy by the name of Spock wanted to make a lot of money going against the social norm. He did and had a generation of baby boomers following him at a time when education (college, that most of their parents didn't attend) had convinced an entire generation things are almost always different than one perceives.

The "I'm smarter than my parent's generation" became the norm where experience and common sense took a backseat. Free sex, anti-war, and antiestablishment is what Spock promoted. He was angry about the "establishment" that didn't accept him as a academic but simply a "baby doctor." His methods produced his own dysfunctional kids and grandkids. He is the grandfather of "self-help" books. One should understand how rare it was to tell someone that they didn't know how to do what was natural to them. It would be like today an "expert" telling everyone that they should go to the bathroom only once a day. However back then an "expert" was revered much more than today. Today we know how much the almighty dollar will cause many to promote the 'expert' that is passing a few dollars their way to sell books.

This is why time-outs are so silly to most of us, the vast majority in the 80% that spank. To be like prison guard making Johnny sit in his seat for a time out is humiliating to most parents. The "books" says it works so they must know more than me. It makes parents look like complete helpless fools and they wear it as a badge of honor since going against human nature appears to be intelligent.

There is only one problem. The new generation is smarter than that. Most all of them have/are attending college now and they don't put professors on a pedestal as the baby boomers did. They know that most of the professors are more likely to be full of crap than their counterparts on the outside in the same area of expertise. Not only that, they have been raised around kids that were and were not spanked. They know the difference between abuse and discipline.

They know the dishonesty motivation of calling a spanking "hitting." Just like they know the play on words of "previously owned" verses "used." They are street smart with these games and have come from a generation of propaganda and politically correctness as a smoke screen to the truth. They are well aware of these devious tactics to convince one to go against what is natural.

They also know how unruly classrooms were and how bullies and troublemakers could be made to behave but were not.

The pendulum swings and it is swinging back again. Our sidestep for 30 or so years, will be just that, as sidestep. Just like fat women were attractive for a while and now skinny starving women are attractive for a while, the pendulum swings.

This nonsense of going against human nature will be a flash in the pan of history.

Answer 8

well i was spanked almost every day, and some time more than that. often for things i never did. my brother was and is a lier that has always been able to get me in trouble. my little brother rarly spanked for any thing. that is our history, now look at us. I am in college level classes (higher than standard AP classes) 2 years early and making great grades. i cook and clean for the whole house hold (6 people) and i am trying to get into a 4-year college next fall (1 year early).
my brother... is a lazy slob who does terable in school, is behind his grade, and has no common sence at all. he is the stupidest kid on the planet and does nothing but cause trouble. BUT according to my parents he is "perfect" and i am scum

i do think that spanking will help them turn out right. just dont over do it like my parents. and dont favor one child over another. it has brought me up to hate my panents and my younger brother.

Answer 9

I spanked my now 12 year old and if need be will my 8 month old when the time comes. You are right though it is not always the best way. There are other things to try. Every child is different, some will respond to spanking some will not. You'll just have to see what it is for your child that gets their attention and gets them to mind best.

Answer 10

i haven't had to spank my 4 year old at all but I'm sure there will come a day i dont like the idea of it either but look at those kids that dont get punished it horrible they have no control the parents that is you dont always have to spank a kid! but there are times i think they could use one little spank lol
its the out of control people that beat the crap out of there kids over having accidents and trust me the parents should be spanked for that!!