Do you think children should get spanked? If so at what age should parents stop spanking children?

Answer 1

I believe in spanking...as I wasn;t spanked and have been thinking alot about my age group lately and the lack of discipline and what not...i am 23...i believe the worst possible age group. Were not all bad but enough is. I think i have seen my age group hasn;t had alot of discipline alot of parents wanted to be friends not aparents and It has hurt the kids, the repuation of young people and the whole country in one way or another.

I don;t think that spanking is absolutely nessary with all children but I think its something that NO parent should ever have an ABSOLUTE NO to. IT should be a last resort thing. It should happen when they are going to hurt themselves or someone else like others have said. Also it is good for repeated offenses...I believe in the 3 strikes your out. I think 3 time outs in a day for a 5 year old is enough after that you need to do something else to get their attention. as the child gets older like 8 or 9 spanking still shouldnt be out question....at that point you can start grounding and taking away privleges and chores and whatnot but if you have been punishing 3 of times in a weeks or a couple weeks time...they are old enough to know how to behave then its time for a spanking they need to know that you mean business and enough of this money business you gave them plenty of chances and alternituives besides a spanking but since they kept going then THEY choose a spanking NOT you. As much as people around here say that spanking wouldn;t work for a teen I would like to disagree....I think if you have a reasonable teen that for the most part is good but just going through a little reblellion stage and they have been grounded and they disobeyed the grounding or if they are doing something really bad they need to know that they are STLL kids NOT adults. A spanking can knock them back a few steps and in some cases thats a good thing. IF a 16 year old DRIVES home drunk then i think they are old enough to know better then to drink and drive assuming youve toild them that. Do you really want to risk just grounding her and taking her licence for a month? after that month shes like FREEDOM and will take advantage of it and possibly be stupid again and do it again. IF they are physically reinforsed that it was wrong and knew that growing up that the ONLY times they were spanked was when the offense was really bad or that they could hurt themselves or someone else it will get through to them I REALLY crossed the line this time on top of the grounding and taking away curfew. Its NOT to be mean but if they know that they ONLY get spanked when the parents HAVE to then they will respect that and respect you for kicking their butt when needed.

Answer 2

About the age of 9-10. And to the ones that think it is abuse the study was actually done on children that were beaten, meaning the parents crossed the line and went further then spankings. In fact most studies not this hug a bunny crap they try to teach and observation alone states otherwise. The generations that got spankings and the countries that don't consider them to be "abuse" have children that act much, much better, then this generation now (and nobody with half a brain and eye site can deny that). You can always tell when a parent doesn't spank their children because those are ALWAYS the worse brats. And laziness really? I think parents who don't discipline their children and try to be their friends instead are lazy. Children need discipline and sometimes the shock from a spanking is the best way. I was spanked as a child and grounded after I got to old for them, and I will do the same to my children. Why? Because it works, as a child that was disciplined this way, I grew up not getting in trouble at school or out on fun times, I never did drugs, I graduated with honors and at 24 make a lot of freaking money. Now the reason for this is because I was disciplined and taught how to act and what was appropriate which, in the long run did a lot of good in the future.

Answer 3

Spanking should be reserved for occasions when the child is endangering himself or others, because those times call for immediate consequences. The only spanking I recall getting was after I had climbed out on the roof at the age of 5 or so. At other times other punishments like time outs or deprivation of privileges are more effective. Spanking should always be done in love, never anger, with explanation before and hugs afterward.
A quick swat can be dangerous, as it jerks the child's spine. The body should always be supported from the front, like over a knee, so the only hurt is on the gluteus maximus where it belongs.
As for when spanking should end, my tiny grandmother spanked her 5 big strapping boys until they left home. She would just tell them to assume the position. I'm sure it didn't hurt them, but they were reminded they needed to obey. My sister's last spanking was the day before her wedding, and she and our mother were both laughing by the time Mom finally caught her.

Answer 4

That depends entirely on the situation and the child. Spankings should stop by 5 or 6, in my opinion.

Answer 5

No, I don't agree that children should get spanked! Never never because children are not living in the same world we grew up in. It has vastlty changed. Did you know that on an MRI scan, you can actually see inside the brain and it can measure the effect stress, neglect, bullying, overindulgence or nurturance has on humans?????

Spanking just breaks down the communication especially in the future when they become teens. Children don't open up to parents that they are scared of. This could very well be why most teens are angry and rebellious wouldn't ya think???

When we make a child afraid of a spanking, we stop learning dead in it's tracks. Besides really, where did we get the idea that in order for children to behave better, we need them to feel worse???

I know it always works for my 2 little guys when I respect them. Of course us adults have far more experience in the world but both children and adults deserve having their feelings and dignity respected. It doesn't matter what age you are.


Without a mutual foundation of respect caring and loads of love, it breaks that down and when kids get older they just grow to ignore their parents. So my knowledge is that respect is not fear based, but communication based.
You can't raise a child in a dictatorship and expect him to function as an adult in democracy. Look at how this world changes, we have to get with the times.

I am just going to rant on because I strongly believe that we are the biggest role models in our kids life. You want to influence them not control them. Spanking is a detachment controlling method.

Big difference between influence and control.
Influence grows as children and relationships do if you keep a solid foundation of respect, caring and guidance up until they move out of the house.
Control is lost as children get more independent, capeable and smart. And spanking (punishment) is not respectful.

So we all must get over the old way of thinking that in order to make children do better, we must make them feel bad.

Spanking just creates power/mind struggles.

Usually I notice that when you see a good parent child relationship and the parents use good discipline, those are the parents that feel good about themselves.
What we do in our household is negotiate and problemsolve with age appropriateness in mind of course. I know you can't negotiate with a toddler but you can discipline in a warm, demanding style. You gotta be their guide, coach, mentor, teacher, protector and facilitator. It is all based on experience.
The more experience, the better.......Right???

Answer 6

No for the most part children should not be spanked - but a swat on the hand if the child is in danger (if he/she is putting a hand on the hot burner)
There are more appropriate ways of discipline than spanking.

Answer 7

Some kids dont need it, some do. I think its all individual, but its kind of a last resort thing. There really isnt a whole lot you can do when they are very little besides a swat on the hind end and a stern word...especially when they are doing something very dangerous where they could get hurt. Whatever the case, explain the punishment. Lots of parents forget to do that. Its important that children know reasons, I think.

Answer 8

yes children each have their own time when they don't need spanking or it doesn't work anymore. Then you have to start grounding them.

Of course I threaten my kids more with it than actually doing it I'm kind of a push over as a mom. Funny, I thought I'd be better at it. Oh well.

Answer 9

There are some child psychologists who are starting to believe that toddlers do better with an occasional "swat" (as opposed to spanking), but even they agree that it should stop as soon as the child is old enough to understand consequences (pre-school age). However, most psychologists are still in the "no spanking" camp.

Answer 10

my last spanking was with a belt on the bare bottom at the age of 16. It was warranted