It is very debatable whether you should spank your child or not. Some look at it as abuse, but I believe that there is a very thick line between abuse and discipline.
I was spanked as a child, and I do not regret it; therefore, I spank my children. The opposition, of course, is that spanking is abuse. The differences between spanking for discipline purposes and abuse is so thick you’d need a chainsaw to cut through it. Growing up, we lived a typical American lifestyle.
Both of my parents worked, all the kids had chores, and were responsible for looking after one another until our parents got home.We were given allowances for doing well, and we were spanked when we did wrong. I know that I did my fair share of trouble making as a child, and was punished accordingly. Our punishments ranged anywhere from spanking, to loss of allowance, to being banished to the couch to watch TV with the family. I grew up with morals and values comparable to none. I learned to respect adults, my parents, and the law.
If I didn’t, I knew what was coming. None of this would be possible if I hadn’t been punished, spanked in particularly, because I wouldn’t have had the fear, so to speak, of the repercussions of my actions.I now have children myself and they too get spanked. They know that if mommy says to stop doing something, they are going to get spanked if they continue. They also remember being spanked for something they did, and therefore they will not do it again; it’s a learning experience. According to a parenting website, “Child discipline is one of the most important elements of successful parenting” (Child Discipline) Some people believe that spanking is wrong.
They would classify it as “abuse”. A prime example: My sister was in a grocery store one day and her son decided to throw a temper tantrum. She picked him up off the floor and spanked him.A woman stopped and told my sister that she was going to call social services on her for “abusing him”. (Pearce, 2003) Though my sister was merely attempting to correct her son, another viewed this action as abuse.
The differences between discipline and abuse are immense. Disciplining is “the practice or methods of insuring that people obey rules by teaching them to do so and punishing them if they do not”. (Bloomsbury 2001) Abuse is “the physical or psychological maltreatment of a person or animal”. (Bloomsbury 2001) This means that punishing a child is okay, just don’t mistreat them. Don’t leave a mark when you spank.
You don’t have to use a belt or switch, your hand is fine; especially if the child is still young. They will learn early to obey commands and the dos and don’ts of life. I personally believe that spanking your children is a good thing to do. Not that it’s good to have to spank them, but if it needs to be done, do it. It will benefit them later in life. Since no one has a perfect child, a spanking should probably occur at least once in their life.
There is no need to beat them until they bruise, but definitely let them know that they did something wrong and that it should not be done again, because if they do, they will be spanked again.
