Opinions on smacking children wanted please!

I dont believe smacking a child is a acceptable form of discipline and it certainly does not teach a child anything.i have 4 kids ranging from 1-11 years old and i have never smacked them to discipline them there are alot of other forms of discipline and i do not believe us as parents should ever hit our kids because it only teaches them violence which is wrong and our job as parents is to teach our kids right from wrong.i think the parents that do smack the kids should use other forms of discipline.

Smacking? Is this a spanking or a slap on the first available body part. I think a cultural difference is happening here. When I think of a smack, I think of a slap or punch. If this is applied to a cheek, shoulder, or hand delicate bones could be broken. I have heard of each one resulting in a trip to the hospital. This is child abuse and has no instructive value other than my parent hates me. A well thought out spanking with an explanation to the child will result in behavior modification. So, for me, at least, a little clarification would be helpful.

Here in the good ole USA most states now have laws about spanking and are against it. I personally feel that the government needs to keep their nose out of people's buisness unless there is severe obvious harmful abuse. A smack on the bottom is not going to hurt other than momentarily. If people would follow the biblical principles God set down for humanity we would not have all these problems. Proverbs in more than one place says to smack your child if you love them. Beating black and blue and bleeding is a totally different thing than a swat on the hinny.

Having children is a pain in the a... sometimes! But you should never use force on them.

big people should NOT hit little people ever

The way a person raises their kid should not be legal or illegal. Smoking around your child should be more criminal than a parent punishing a certain way. My parents punished me with spanking, but when they had my brother in America, they stopped because of the fear of getting in trouble. I chose not to hit my son. This is not because of the law. I agree there are other constructive ways to discipline. It shouldn't be controlled by the law however.

I am against on spanking the children and I think it's not right to do. Even though if the children are naughty, spaking is not the way to go. If I were to have kids and they're naughty, I would just punish them but I don't want to spank or hit them. I think my wife would agree on me because she came from family that has never done any spanking.

I don't like children being hurt but if we have to discipline a child if he never ever listens to what you want to imply to him he should get a spank..but ofcourse not that hard. Spanking a child for being naughty should not be considered as child abuse...It should be in a controlled manner though. Some countries I know can't even spank their kids so they grow up talking back to the elders..not obeying...and that is not good.

I spank my kids sometimes because that is what they need! Not a beating or anything but a spank on the bottom does some good with them. It isn't the only thing we do, we take certain things away (fun stuff) but there are certain times when that has to be done. Not often, but sometimes.

different people have different techniques in raising their kids. i believe parents generally know best how to discipline their kids. smacking works for some kids. as long as the smacking is done in the right context and is abused, i see no harm with a good smack or two if the child is in dire need of it. talking and explaining to a child can only get you so far. i have a 2 year old niece. i often tell her no if she's being particularly mischievous. but saying no in some situations never gets the messaage across as with a smack on the bottom. so i say as long as the child is not being seriously harmed, smacking should not be banned. i mean, what's next? will they ban being grounded too?

hai guys, i am exactly co-operate with you,because parents are the one who can take care of every thing about their children, parents knows what their children want but not the politicians

I think it depends on the severity. There is a resonable force that can be used. If it causes injury it is too much

i have a 9 and 19 month old and i dont want to smack em but my 19 month old makes you want to. But i restrain myself

No you shouldn't smack your children. What would you do if they smacked you back????

I think that most parents know the differenct between a reasonable smack at the right time and child abuse. What the government should do is make stricter laws against real abuse. If they consider lifting a hand to a child in any way, abuse, what happens when kids start smacking parents? Will they make that illegal, too?

As a mom and former child care provider i understand that there are times when spanking is nessassary to teach them no. There is also a time when it can cross the line. I would be VERY upset if someone told me when my child goes beyond the line that i could not punish him in a way that is fitting to his disobedience. I very rarely have to actually spank my child. He listens, he learns, and he pushes his limits, some discipline techniques work, others dont. We have found our balange. I think the government while meaning well in hoping to prevent child abuse, is going about it all wrong. My child getting a spanking one in a blue moon is not child abuse. However i highly doubt this law will actually change things for people who do abuse their kids. There should be harsher punishments for those abusing their kids. Not punishments for those who use spanking as a diciplnary measure. Which i veiw this as. I also have to say if I lived in NZ and they passed this law, it probably wouldent change my methods. I think what it is going to do is prevent people frm spanking in public. But whats to stop it in their homes?

In my opinion, a child should only be smacked after third time the child has committed the same manner of offense. Child smacking should be restricted only on the child's behind and the term abuse should apply when the parents smack their child on other parts of the child's body and the government should also consider the material used to smack the child.Giving the child a smack would instill on his or her mind not to commit the same offense.

I believe there is a thin line between smacking and abuse. When my kids are naughty and I have given them fair enough warning I have given them a slap on the hand. This get their attention and makes them realize I mean business. Granted I don't smack very often because they usually listen to my first warning. I think the government may be trying to control too much in everyones lives. Fifty years ago kids were spanked because thats what you did. It seems like there was less violence back then. I dont know if the reason more kids misbehave now a days is because parents are not allowed to spank anymore or if its something else.

Smacking of children is one of the ways to discipline children. right or wrong it all depends on nature of offence, the degree of smacking and the purpose of it. As a parent I only smack my children as a last resort, if all other soft approach fail. After the punishment I would explain to my children the necessity of the punishment, So far it works for me in disciplaning my children. so I think the government should not interfere........... unless it is child abuse.......

Although I am completely against spanking, the government should not put laws that forbid parents to discipline their children, instead they should invest the money to educate and help parents deal with this, not make it worse for them. Spanking was very popular in the old days and when you grow up with that it's hard not to fall in the same trap as your parents and do the same, so we are going to one extreme to another without any intervention. Some people think that spanking was good for them, but let me ask you, do you remember it well as I do, and did it not affect the outcome of your life in some way? People say we spank to scare them not to hurt them. Is that what you want for your children? For them to be scared of you, I know that's why I listened, at least most of the time, because I was scared, not because I learned something. I turned out to be a very compassionate person, a plus, but I'm also very fearful to take chances in life, but I've chosen to break the cycle and forget the past and move forward but how many are scarred for life, do we really know the depts of the consequences? I know it's tough as a parent today and some kids are downright disrespectful, but a lot of times it's because of much deeper issues rather than because they are not spanked. Could be that your exausted, the child is bullied, your stressed and don't know how to deal with it anymore etc. I've never had to spank any of my children, and they are very respectful because I instilled it by repeating myself and by discussing issues and offering choices, but this generation is all about learning to cope in a new world that didn't exist back then, the government should give parents the tools to succeed today. Sometimes I think the government just chooses the easy way out! That's just my opinion.