Spank or not?

Spanking must have ended with the last generation. Children of this generation are having a good I.Q. May be they are mischeivous. With only oral threatening, the teachers should be able to control them. So give up spanking.

Be consistent in your methods of discipline and how you punish your child. This applies to all caregivers. Your child should learn to understand that there are predictable consequences for his actions. Think ahead. Be prepared for what you are going to do and say to help your child understand the consequences of his actions. Don't just wing it, or do or say the first thing that pops into your head. You are more likely to react negatively if you haven't thought out your plan for discipline beforehand. Set up a daily routine for your younger children and try and stick to it each day. This should include mealtimes, snacks, bath and bedtime. Provide a safe environment that encourages exploration, but protects your child. For example, you can prevent your toddler from getting in trouble for opening drawers and cabinets if you have safety locks preventing them from opening. Set limits that are appropriate for your child's age and developmental level. Remember that you are in charge and that you will have to say ‘no' to your child sometimes. You should expect your child to cry when he does not get his way. This is a normal way of dealing with frustration in younger children and should be ignored. You should also ignore temper tantrums. Do not offer choices in situations where you child has to cooperate with your rules. For example, instead of saying ‘do you want to take a bath?' you should instead say ‘it is time for your bath.' Don't give in to your child when he is whining, crying or having a temper tantrum. If you do, it will only teach him that this kind of behavior is an appropriate way to get what he wants. Learn to ignore minor, harmless or unimportant misbehaviors, such as fidgeting. Make punishments and rewards immediate. Avoid waiting more than a few minutes to provide the consequences of a behavior. Avoid repeating commands. You should give a command and if not followed, then you can repeat it once with a warning of what the consequences for noncompliance will be. If not followed, then apply the consequences. Do not continue to repeat the command. Don't argue with your child about the punishment. Ignore any protests. You can talk about it later. Plan ahead. If you always have difficulty in certain situations, such as shopping or having visitors, go over a plan of action beforehand, which includes what your expectations are and what the consequences of misbehavior will be. Be flexible, especially with older children and adolescents. Listen and get your child's input on some rules and punishment. Use ‘I' messages, instead of ‘you' messages. For example, say ‘I am upset that you didn't clean up your room,' instead of ‘You made me upset for not cleaning up.' ‘You' statements can seem more accusatory and can lead to arguing. After disciplining your child, briefly explain the rule and what your expectations are when he misbehaves and explain what the proper behavior would have been.

I don't really know the answer to that, is there really a right or wrong answer? I have raised my daughter on my own as a single parent and I have never had to spank my daughter. I talk to her in a calm manner and don't yell at her, when she does something wrong I talk to her about it rather than yell or spank her for it. She has really never done anything that horribly bad either. I think you just need to reinterate the good things that a child should be doing and reinforce not doing the bad things especially when your child actually see's someone doing something wrong, they set the example.

There is no right answer to this one as every child is different. Since we are not to hit our children, we need to get the point across in other ways - taking away their favorite toy or activity. Focus on the positive instead of the negative reward good behavior and your kids will behave better (or so psycologist would like us to believe).

If you Love your kids you will discipline them... Spank that butt when needed. Coz if you dont you have a good chance of your kids undermining you... and when it happens.....its the begining of a hard road.

I don't believe in spanking, for me, kids are kids and they are always likee that, playful, emotional but sometimes they tend to be real sweet. Talking to them in a proper way is always good.