protest over spanking children

I raised my kids the exact same way....like we were raised. If you acted up..you got your a** whipped. And we DID not grow up with a fear of our parents. We grew up with a clear understanding of right and wrong. My parents loved us more often than disciplined us. But we knew EXACTLY where the line was. Kids behaved better years ago, when the parents would latch a mouthy brat up for disrespecting their elders, teachers, ect.. My kids are only 8 and 10 so it hasnt been that long ago that they got it, and still will if they need it. But if a parent does their job of parenting when their kids are still little, then they wouldnt have to do it when they get older. Im sick of hearing how parents dont discipline their kids because they came from an "abusive" home and want better for their kids..grr. NOONE is saying to be abusive, but damn it be a parent and quite expecting everyone else to teach them right from wrong so you can be their "friend.. I couldnt agree with you more. I know the shrinks (example Dr.Phil) have to advise you not to whip your kids because everyone is so sue happy nowadays, that some idiotic parent is gonna go nuts and kill their kid after being told they should spank their a**es once in a while. But I believe if parents did their job, then we wouldnt have kids killing kids all the time. Thanks for letting me vent..lol

I don't believe in spanking MY son, or any future children that I have. I wasn't spanked either. I do have a hard time understanding why people spank, perhaps that's because I wasn't raised with this. My son is also an angel, sure he has his toddler moments, but I can't imagine raising a hand to him. I'm not sure how I feel if it's made illegal, it obviously won't affect me personally but I think it may make CPS and the authorities that are already busy with other things even worse. People call CPS on others when they want revenge, the system is already messed up as it is and I'm not sure this would help anymore. I've had to fear a few people calling CPS on us because of my parenting philosophies (attachment parenting), it's ridiculous that people use children like this!

My mom spanked me when I was little and I think that it made me the responsible, mature woman I am today. Discipline is necessary. The thing is that some parents take it to an extreme which is wrong. Hitting your kids should be the last resort and it should not be abusive. But if it's done right, it can be a great method of discipline.

I personally think that the government should have the right to say how a parent may discipline their children. Do they not have enough to worry about without trying to tell everyone how to do every little thing in their lives. A swat to a childs butt with an open hand isn't child abuse. My parents swatted my behind I didn't scream abuse. I know of parents who leave their children in standing in the corner for hours at a time. Guess what a social worker told me thats not child abuse. Go figure. A parenshould have the right to discipline their child as the see fit.

Thats the very reason children don't mind nowdays, because the goverment is trying to tell us how to discipline our children. I really hate how they are telling us not to spank our children, its just not ethical or logical not to let them know whos boss. I don't spank my kids very hard, just enough to let them know they did wrong. Sometimes you messed up isn't enough sometimes the only way they understand is through a pat on the bottom. People these days are just looking for somethign to complain about.

I personally thinnk that it is the governments right and duty to protect children from harm, and in my opinion this includes boh slapping and spanking. I know som parents still carry out this sort of punishment, but it is something that I take great distance from. I honestly believe that when parents use violent acts to punish their children, that it is more because they have lost control, and less because they want to correct behavior. My children do just fine with timeouts, getting toys taken away, and losing pocket money due to bad behaviors all depending on the severity of the behavior. I was hit when I was a kid, and I can tell you that it did nothing to make me behavior, but what it did was make me fear and detest my father, make me more fighsty and create a temper. Did you ever wonder whether your children are scared of you, I know that I would be, if I were a child three times less the size than you, and with no means (or privileges) to fight back.

I think they are crossing the line. It is very important to correct inappropriate behavior and I think it is up to the parent to decide which way is best in his/her own family. I understand that some people choose not to spank their kids. I don't judge them. They shouldn't judge me.

ONE BIG GOLD STAR FOR DDZDVD and keep doing what you think is best for your children. As long as your children don't complain or take you to court who care what the rest of the world thinks. I was spanked when I was a child and I deserved every spanking that I got. And I kinda think that I am better off today because of it. I knew the consequences of my actions but I was and am beligerant in many ways which, believe me, has gotten me through a lot of difficult times. I sometimes get the feeling that those who protest too much may be "closet abusers". In my mind the worst person ever born in the United States was Dr. Spock. His methods changed the upbringing and not for the good by any stretch of the imagination. He, himself, not long ago admitted that he made a mistake....great after all the damage he did. As far as the government is concerned I am not really sure that they maintain 100% of the fault. As I see it, it is only following the dictates of the minority to the majority. I think if a poll was taken spanking would not be considered as abuse....or at least it shouldn't. My Dad never left marks on me but my bottom was sore enough to keep me from sitting on a chair without a pillow....for that reason I stood up a lot. I think that spanking is one thing in our past, among many others, that we should bring back into use.....where merited but not to excess. But then again, what do I know...I never had children but if I had I would never spare the rod and spoil the child. +++

Interesting subject here. I think this is a hard subject for everyone. I grew up in the 60's where we got a spanking 5 or 6 times a day. I still remember them like they were yesterday. I resented getting them and said I would NEVER spank my children. Well I was so wrong! I only had 2 boys and they were pretty good kids most of the time. But every now and then disciplining them with taking toys away, standing in the corner, time out, etc. just did not work. I found my youngest son almost begged me for a stronger action. Once I spanked him he was an angel for months. I never hit to hurt him, actually I always popped a blood vessel in my finger so it definitely hurt me more than it did him. I think there is such a fine line from a spanking to a beating that the government felt they needed to get involved to protect the child. I think they should protect all children who are being beat or savagely attacked by their parents. But they do not have the right to tell anyone how and when to discipline their child. I had HRS called on me one day when I was trying to get ants off my son. He had stepped in an ant bed that was about 1 foot high. He came running to me and I saw he was covered in ants. Of course I was scraping the ants off as quickly as possible and he was screaming to the top of his lungs. I am sure to someone it looked like I was slapping him while he ran in circles screaming. Bless his heart I had to strip his clothes off in the yard and get them off. When HRS came to investigate I showed them my son who was covered in more than 300 bites. The only thing that saved me from losing my son was I had taken him to the hospital and they confirmed there was no abuse. I actually saved my son from dying. So you see it is not always a good thing the government does. I guess if they did it right it would not be so bad, but they don't and it becomes invasion of privacy. Where was the HRS when my son was being eaten by ants? They sure were not there to help me with a crisis, but they did not hesitate to show up to add to my stressed day!

Yes I think the government is crossing the line. Right now it will be spanking but what will be next? What if you send a child to his room for the night, isn't that imprisoning them? Isn't that illegal to do to someone? Will they take that away next? Or taking a toy away isn't that stealing and should not be allowed? Why can I do that to a child and not an adult? Any form of punishment can be deemed wrong or illegal if one wants to look at it from that point of view. Are we then not to punish them at all? I see too many parents today more worried about what their child thinks of them then worrying about if they are raising their child correctly. They are the parent not the child's best friend. They are supposed to be authoritative and there might be times a child doesn't like their parent. It's part of life. We never liked it when our parents said no but that didn't mean they weren't right in saying that to us. Now I will be the first to admit no child is perfect. No one form of punishment will work with all children. Some might need a slap across the backside while others taking their favorite toy away for five minutes is traumatic. It all depends on the child. I've known some that you could take everything away from them, give them time outs, talk with them till you are blue in the face and they will continue to act the same way. I've seen some that just talking with them will be enough to make them stop. Each child is different and I don't think the government or any other parent should have the right to decide what is right for someone else's child. If this went through all it would mean is that more parents would be afraid of the government taking their kids. Right now I have seen parents having cops called because the kid was put in their room for a bit. Yes the kid was screaming because of it so the neighbors called the cops. Thankfully the cops once there realized it was a false claim but it didn't stop them from checking the place out, make sure it was clean, there was enough food, etc and it stays on the record that they were called there. I see nosey people go up to parents who kids are acting up and tell others how to discipline no matter what the parent might be doing. If it's talking with the kid they tell them they should be firmer and remove them, if they spank the kid they tell them they should be talking to them and making deals, and so on. Right now parents can't win and if that law goes through it will be even worse.

I think the government has no business dictating a parent's disciplinary method for a child. Coming from experience, spanking isn't abuse. It doesn't even come close. Should their be a limit to corporal punishment? Yes. My father spanked us bare butt with his own hands, and he also gave us whippings with a belt (which stopped with me). Never once did I feel abused, and never once did I fear my father, not even with the threat of a belt whipping. Oh sure, I was afraid of getting spanked, but then, every child fears punishment. Hell, when my father finally gave up corporal punishment for more modern methods of punishment, I even feared those. Personally, when I was a kid, I preferred getting spanked over getting grounded. Regardless, though - I believe it should be a parent's choice as to what punishment they use for their child. Some parents never hit their kids, and their children grow up just fine, and the same result is true for parents who do hit their kids. It depends on the parents, and it depends on the children. As long as you're not using enough force to really hurt the child, and as long as whatever method of punishment you use works, I see nothing wrong with spanking.

I dont like to spank my kids, maybe a punishment that i will not buy them what they like if they do this or that, is discipilining them too. but spanking is such a bad way of disciplining them. You must know that they will bring the memories that they spank by their parents until they are grown up.

I am 28 and I still feel like parents should be parents and not kid's friends. I spank my children (usually as a last resort, and rarely). I've also been told numerous times that my kids are very well behaved.

I thought the child is needs to educate,the corpora i punishment isone kind!Entes the miliary compound on the qualified main strength!!