TO SPANK OR NOT TO SPANK! That is the question

[Kimberley]

I was spanked as a child. At times, one could say it was abuse.

When I spank my children (like once or twice a year), they get 3 swats on the butt. Then, I go to my room and cry. I hate spanking but at the same time, if they did something severly wrong, they needed to learn.

Originally Posted by Kimberley

I was spanked as a child. At times, one could say it was abuse.

When I spank my children (like once or twice a year), they get 3 swats on the butt. Then, I go to my room and cry. I hate spanking but at the same time, if they did something severly wrong, they needed to learn.

my mom used to whale the s*** out of me but i guess that is just her generation raised her. i'm like you my kids don't get spanked hardly at all but sometimes i whap 'em on their butt ans send them to their room to think about what they have done....my hubby spanks them more than i used too and we used to get in knock-out drag-out fights over that but he gets them more with the tone of his voice than anything

This was quite hard for me to choose.. i haven't chosen yet actually..

but i was "spanked" so to speak when I was younger.. actually as i remember it, we got spanked not with our parents hands but with my dad's belt buckles.

and as i turned into my teen years like 13ish and was such a rebel.. i once went out with my friends to the mall and came home late and i got my ass handed to me.. literally.. my mom beat the crap out of me..

was it a form of disapline? to my parents yes because that's how they were raised in the phillipines.. but to me of course it was abuse.

my parents after that incident have never layed one finger on me ever after that though..

i dont think hitting your children with belt buckles, shoes and stuff is right at all.. i dont think i could ever hit Tianna.. but then again she's a baby right now and shes such an angel! lol

but i do remember getting slapped inthe booty when i did something bad like steal candy or something and i think i deserved that... i actually learned from that lol.. so i guess it all depends?

[Mandy]

I voted no, because i don't think spanking teaches them anything.
I prefer to sit down and talk, ask questions to find out where that behaviour is coming from.
I was spanked when i was young, and i swore i wouldnt do that to my kids, it's very humiliating.

[Janet]

I was spanked as a child and it didn't make me nuts or anything. I believe if it's a spank with no anger behind it, then it's fine.

I remember when I was very little, I rode my little orange pedal jet way down the street. I mean a good 15-20 houses down the street. I turned around to come back and I saw my Mom coming with switch in hand. All I could do was stand there shuffling from foot to foot, because I knew if I ran I would get it even worse. I had boundaries where I could ride my pedal jet and I never forgot them after that day. Yes my mother spanked us and used a tree switch with the leaves on the end so it would sting. She didn't have to use those tactics often, because we learned. Never ever thought of it as abuse while growing up, because I knew I was loved in spite of. My father never did the discipline and since my mother was a small woman, I guess that's the only way she knew to deal with us.

[Gina]

I don't believe in spanking, though I use to threaten my kids with a big wooden spoon, in which my MIL supplied...lol I would take the spoon out and pretend I was going to hit their butts with it and they would listen. Actually when I was a kid I was always spanked on the butt. I grew up ok but I think that spanking doesn't resolve anything. I am a firm believer in punishment , going to their room, taking something away or just time out. Let them know they are doing something wrong and they have to be reprimanded. Actually I was a softie , I yelled mostly but hey my kids turned out pretty well today, they are 19and 21 yr. old and are doing well in college and never gave me any problems.. Thank God....

[Marilyn]

My daughters were not spanked very much. We spanked when the offense was severe and needed to be handled on the spot with immediate, memorable punishment. We were unsure what was best, so we preferred to discuss with them what they did and punish them by taking something away for a while, a toy or a privaledge. Surprisingly, our daughters say we were too easy on them and should have spanked them more. Go figure, did not expect them to feel this way.

I was spanked as a child, and it sure kept me in line. I didn't want to not spank due to Proverbs 13:24 "He who spares his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him promptly."

All punishment no matter the form, should be given because we love, not out of anger.