Smacking ban fails without vote

In theory I believe that parents should have the right. In practice I spanked my son once and he looked at me with disbelief and asked me "Why did you do that?" I felt bad and didn't do it again.

Please, don't hit your kids. :(

I think we have to ask ourselves certain questions:
What message is it sending them? It cannot be a good one, chances are they don't understand what they have done wrong, and if they do, are they doing it for a reason...like they want attention. The only signal they are getting from this is that hitting is ok....

What are they getting out of it? I don't feel they are realising that what they did is bad, all they will know is that wherever was smacked is now hurting.....they are finding out nothing about what they did wrong.

What are they learning from the situation? NADA. They are learning that, to hit is to hurt, and will take this, rather perceptively to other areas of their life..........to the playground man!!!

Smacking as a form of ultimate consequence only has a limited lifespan. Over use of any kind of chastisement only breeds indifference and can result in damaging resentment.

That said, children need to develop a sense of what is appropriate and what is not in an adult society, and sometimes this can only be conveyed by some form of appropriate punitive punishment.

I think that the likelyhood of people posting here are not parents, at least not parents of more than one child, and have no idea what the day to day struggles with discipline truly are. I grew up with spankings if I did something really wrong - guess what? I'm not a serial killer, I don't abuse others, and I have a pretty full and happy life. If my children run out into the street, they will get a pain response that ensures that they never do it again. If they reach for the stove, they get a little pain from me instead of a huge amount of pain and a scar from the hot pans. We learn from pain, it tells us that what we're doing is wrong. If you have tons of kids and they all do what they're told without arguing, never putting themselves in harm's way, well, you're the exception to the rule. The rest of us have to deal with kids who need intervention, protection, and sometimes even punishment.

I don't have children yet, but I once was one. I do feel a quick swat on the rear or the grabbing of the arm and using 'the voice' for a minor discipline is necessary, but a spanking with a belt certainly never taught me a lesson. I don't remember a damn thing as to why I was spanked.
Putting my nose in the corner for a set amount of time did wonders. One time I had to stand with my brother on the front porch with our noses against the house for an hour for breaking a shower door. All the neighbors and friends were able to see and joke at school about it. We learned to never rough house inside again.

I particularly don't like children in some certain ways...they be all nice in a minute, but the next is unthinkable!!

haha ha ha
-sigh-
thanks, i needed that
let me just say, i was always smak\cked around, and i came out totally fine.

if i need to, yes, i will spank, or smack my child.

there is a difference though. its how you go about the punishing and whoopings. i would simply smack my child then CALMY explain to them why they got spanked. this way, they know what they did wrong, and you were rational about it. it builds a certain parent/child respect, and builds morals as well.

beating your kids, while yelling, cursing, slaming doors, intimidating them...thats a no no. you just have to know how far to go (or not to go, really). that breaks the trust barrier of them telling you the truth, or coming to you with a way different view on how they feel about something (whatever the situation is).

some of these young parents have to remember, be a parent FIRST, then a friend. thats a thin line which could cause the most misunderstanding.

You gotta be free to spank. Especially when they're young. Part of parenting is conditioning a young animal. Instilling that fear when they're little makes it easier when they're older. I helped raise my nephew and I'm the only one to ever whoop his ass when he was little. Now he's a teenager and I'm the only one he's afraid of. When he gets to be too much to handle, my phone rings because he concedes to my authority. I was the same way with my Dad.

But it's a case-by-case assessment whether spanking is needed or not. My sister would just crumble if she was yelled at or, even worse, if my parents said they were disappointed in her.

I was the opposite. My parents could say anything, they could jump up and down screaming and yelling, they could give me time outs, etc., it didn't matter. Anything short of an ass whooping and I would just stick my tongue out at them (literally and figuratively).

I benefited from being spanked and, upon reflection, I'm grateful for it.

Good comments. Thanks for the post.

There is a huge difference between "smacked" and beat down. I just hope this law doesn't entangle good parents with the bad ones.

Three cheers for corporal punishment!
In all seriousness though, there is a fine line between corporal punishment and abuse. I'm pretty confident that the judicial system is intelligent enough to know the difference; the fact that leaving a visible mark is illegal is a step in the right direction for sure.

It depends on the child. But I like to think that we are all born with a blank slate, so whats around is what influences us especially infants.

I don't think I would need to smack my child. I would ban television for the most part, i would feed him no candies.
The biggest factor is the influence that he recieves from other children whom may be misbehaving.

I think smacking degrades you and makes you less confident as you are more fearful of the consequences in whatever career you pursue.
I believe moral encouragement is what you need to say to your child to make him successful in the years to come. Also provide a daily ritual of learning and brain sustenance (dha). ALL the fundamental basics must be covered in the early years (3-10) otherwise you would not be as intelligent as you would've liked him/her to be.

from motor skills to arithmetic. And above all else verbal skills. Communication is the key to success.

Whether you're for spanking or not, don't tell me what to do with my kids...well, when I have some. As long as the abuse line is not crossed, mind your screaming kid throwing the tantrum in the middle of aisle 4 in Walmart.

please..i was the type of child that NEEDED an ass whooping every now and then.

Look to your bible folks. This is where corporal punishment comes from... folow the rules that have been laid out for you. Spanking give children the boundries that they need. This gives stability to them as well as confidence in the parents to deliver justice properly. This builds character as well as their ability to function in society with its boundries and rules. Spanking is a teaching tool, and not a way to "get back at", or "vent frustrations". If you feel this way, you need to step back a moment, and then resolve yourself to give the punishment that is needed for the child, not your vengence. This is for their benefit, not yours. This should be in love for the child only!
Consistancy and fairness is the key. Children respond to this, and will thank you when they grow up to see the reasoning in it.

In asia, well some parts, it is very common for parents to spank their kids, with a Belt or a Stick. It is a common form of discipline, and even in public schools if a child has done wrong, he is spanked in front of the enitre school and I have seen the results that their children do grow up to be perfectly normal and well disciplined people.

If children were not spanked they would not know their mistakes, which is a result of some of the youth today who are just let lose.

Yesterday, I brought my 33yr old daughter out of hospital. She had attempted suicide, which failed, because she was caught in the attempt. This was brought about entirely because her chidren know the law. They can and will, do what they want because the law says they are bomb proof. She has divorced her husband, because he too, was usless. I am their grandad, they don`t like me too much because I make them do as they are told.

The goody two shoes and their kind, have a lot to answer for. These pie in the sky idiots should come down to Earth and see the consequences of their babbling.

As an after thought. When I was 9, one winters` teatime going home from school. Three of us threw snow balls at some girl class mates. The following morning in school, and before the entire school, we, the boys, were given 6 strokes of the cane each on our hands by the headmaster.

Now that`s over the top. In this day and age, the man would have been sacked. A letter to our parents, yes.
Detention, yes. Some form of disipline to reign in antisocial behavour, yes. But that was O.T.T.