Spare The Rod and Spoil The Child?

I am also a baby boomer and was spanked as a child. In that day and age it was considered normal, at least by me. I just assumed that all the kids my age got spanked. My kids are grown now but I have to admit that even though it was very rare, I did spank my children. I think it depends on the situation and your reason for wanting to spank the child. A lot of people spank children to fulfil their own needs i.e. their own anger or need to "show them who is boss" and that, in my humble opinion, is just wrong. There is a very fine line between spanking a child and abusing them. Unfortunately most people cannot determine where that line is and many end up crossing it. Therefore, I would say that it is better NOT to spank a child and seek out different methods of discipline.

I do agree with you. I got spankings when I did something wrong as a child. It was not all the time and it was not for every little thing. But if I hurt someone else or was about to hurt myself I would get a tap on the hand or on my butt. Hey, I deserved it. I remember biting my sister on the back because she was taking the game control away from me. I got the worst spanking for that one, but like I said I deserved it and I never bit anyone again after that!! It taught me a lesson. There is NOTHING wrong with a spanking in my opinion. I am not a violent person because of it, there is not one violent bone in my body. It did not traumatize me in any way at all. It is just another way for OTHER people to control how we discipline our children...Really sad and pathetic in my opinion... When my kids do something really bad like hurt each other yes they get tapped on the butt and there is NOTHING wrong with that! I do not hurt my children in any way and they are NOT being taught to be violent, they are being taught their behavior was WRONG! Time out for most children is a JOKE.

Hi messtee58, I see it all from a completely different angle and I recognize that some children are much too sensitive to be hit. I view spanking children as hitting children. My children are also grown now. Some parents are dysfunctional, and when they hit their children, they abuse their children. I say... go ahead and spank as long as you're okay with the idea that later in life it might be your adult children "spanking you" when you're too elderly to take care of yourself. What goes around, often times, comes around.

I got spanked by my parents a lot, not once, not twice when I didn't even deserve it, and it hurt me. So I won't hit or spank my kids if I'm going to have one. I think there are less violent but effective ways to teach the children manners. I don't think there is a need for it. Also, I don't think all child's whining and stuff or anything less than being a perfect child should be punished... or maybe it's juudt because of my own memories...

I got spanked by my parents a lot, not once, not twice when I didn't even deserve it, and it hurt me. So I won't hit or spank my kids if I'm going to have one. I think there are less violent but effective ways to teach the children manners. I don't think there is a need for it. Also, I don't think all child's whining and stuff or anything less than being a perfect child should be punished... or maybe it's juudt because of my own memories...