Do any of you who have kids oppose corporal punishment?

Question

I ask this because usually when someone voices an opinion that punishing a child by spanking is wrong for any reason, that person is accused of being a childless liberal who just happened to stumble upon a few of the latest parenting books. In short, when someone opposes corporal punishment, people make the assumption that said person doesn't have children (that's been MY observation, anyway).

So, I'm wondering if any parents out there take issue with spankings, and for what reason(s).

Thanks.

Answer 1

I have children and I oppose spanking. It teaches kids that violence is an appropriate response to bad behavior. It's not acceptable for Johnny to hit Mary when she teases him and it's not acceptable for me to hit Johnny when he's misbehaving. I'm not anti-discipline, I'm anti-spanking. You can be strict as all get-out and still not spank. My kids think I'm way too strict because when they misbehave, I most often take away computer time and they hate that. It's about all I ever have to do, because they hate that so much, they behave pretty well. (I have 2 seven year olds)

I was spanked a little as a child. A vivid example of an appropriate punishment stands out to me from my childhood. I was 4 years old and showing my little neighbor friend how if you took a lighter and put the flame up to the side of the wooden coffee table, it made a really cool black mark. Well my friend and I took two lighters and went all around the coffee table making cool black burn marks. We could have burned the house down....I was really proud of my artwork and showed my mother when she came home. She gasped and couldn't even begin to know how to punish me for something this bad, so she waited until my dad came home.

When Dad walked through the door, all my brothers and sisters ran upstairs with my mother because they feared what my dad was going to do to me. My mother heard my screams and came running downstairs, fearing that my dad was beating me to death. When she came down and told my dad to stop, he said he'd never touched me. All he did was take a kleenex, put a lighter flame to it, and set it on fire. I was freaked out by the fire and started screaming. I never knew what a flame could do until he did that. And I NEVER played with fire again. Yeah, he could have whacked me really badly, but then I probably wouldn't have remembered the lesson over 40 years later...

Answer 2

I don't agree with corporal punishment, and believe that the only time physical control needs to be used is when the other person (kids in this case) are being physical as well.

Yes, spanking is wrong, for any reason. It teaches kids that hitting and violence is okay if they are justified, it humiliates, and it teaches kids that the only way their parents are in control is by physical force. Spanking also almost never works as a logical or natural consequence of an action. Some say that they don't spank hard enough to hurt. In this case, then what damage is really being done? Usually it is emotional, and makes the child feel humiliated or exploited. When it does hurt, then it is abuse.

When kids misbehave, it is the adult's job to discipline. If the child doesn't really understand that the behavior is wrong, then they should be taught at that moment. The appropriate behavior should be practiced. If the child does know it is wrong, then consequences need to be experienced. They should just make sense. Taking away possessions and privileges don't really work in this case either, unless those things being taken away are directly part of the problem.

Answer 3

Spanking should be used as a last resort.
It is far better to try reasoning, grounding and time-outs first.

On a strong-willed child sometimes a spanking has to be resorted to.. Also it should be a hand applied to the bottom.

By 10 years old spankings shouldn't be needed.

I oppose bare-bottom spankings as that should never be used.

Answer 4

I don't think a parent is doing anything wrong if they spank their child...It is their decision and if that is their way, fine. But I am a parent that doesn't spank, mainly because I wasn't spanked and it is the way I was raised... My son knows when I am serious and I can control him with my voice. It works for my family but everyone is different!

Answer 5

Not all people who are opposed to spanking don't have children. However, some people don't, and they feel the need to force things down people's throat when they have no experience with children at all.

There's people who believe in spanking who don't have children. It's just an opinion. I know plenty of people who don't have children, however they think children should be spanked.

Answer 6

I"m a mother of three, and I wouldn't say I take issue with spanking, but I've never spanked my three kids. I simply haven't had to - timeouts or simply expressing my disapointment in them has been highly effective so far. But I do think every kid is different, and I wouldn't judge another parent if they used spanking to discipline their kids.

Answer 7

I only take issue with excessive spanking...where a child is spanked for everything he/she does wrong. If a child puts himself or another person in danger because of his actions then I think it is appropriate to spank. For instance, running out in the road. I would spank my daughter in a heartbeat if she didn't listen to me and ran out in the road...better to get a spank from me than to get hit by a car.

Answer 8

i am opposed to spanking for ALL discipline, i think there is a time and a place. parents have gotten way out of hand with it, and that is why there are the issues that there are.

i've tried to explain to my mom why i don't want her spanking my son for EVERY thing he does wrong. it's hard for her to understand and she lectures me about how he needs to respect me and whatnot, but i don't think that spanking him is going to help with that.

i think spanking enforces negatives when we should be enforcing positives. but when it comes to something that endangers their life, you better believe they will get a swat...it's better then the pain they'd feel from whatever dangerous thing they were getting into!

Answer 9

I have a child, and I do oppose any form of physical punishment. I don't believe that hitting a child is necessary or productive. Good parenting takes effort, creativity, and patience, and starts with a strong parent-child attachment in infancy. My daughter is almost 6 and is a very well-behaved, well-adjusted child. She's never been hit or yelled at, nor has she ever had a time-out. I have friends with similar parenting styles and well-behaved children, so it is quite possible to parent effectively without hitting your kids.

Answer 10

ALL kids oppose spankings. But it's not up to the kid. It's up to the parents to decide their punishment. Next time the kid will know not to offend if the spanking hurts.

Edit: Oops, I misread the question, but my statement still stands.