Smacking Children- should it be banned?

[Moonhunter]

I am a 16 yr old who was smacked by my parents when i was younger...i do not take drugs,act violent or abuse the law in any way shape or form. I have grown up to be a polite and considerate citizen in today's world...but i do believe there is a difference between smacking and abuse...smacking should be confined to the bum...wasn't it supposed to be the bum because it is a fatty area that wouldn't hurt too much? (correct me if im wrong) but anywhere else on the body is abuse...the smack only works on some children and not others and shuld be used after other methods have been trailed and tested...i would like to hear anyone's opinions as i am doing an oral presentation at my school on this matter. thankyou.

[SiM]

wow, uber bumpage

I am thankful I was strongly disciplined as I child, I feel it has made me a better person today (both morally and academically) and has directly influenced the success in my life.

Its one of the things I most look forward to doing when I have children

[j.o.s.h.1408]

when i was young i got smacked quit alot and according to my mum i wasnt that bad compared to my lil bro who hardly gets smacked and is sooo rude to every1. kids these days get away with alot now compared to us lot who got beats for little things

[TeePee]

Strangest first post ever...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nn5jlrxcpkI

[Blackmage]

I agree, as with many above i was smacked as a child and i have grown up to be a Sensible young man.

[markymicro]

I don't think they should ban it as all parents are different, but I would never never hit my child, even at points when she makes me so angry. I feel there is much worse punishment like tv, games, mobile phones and so on can be taken off them, why would enyone want there child to feel pain?

[0iD]

Holy Thread Revival Batman!

Smacking is ok imo when it is exercised with caution & restraint. As a fater of four I have very very rarely had cause to. In fact I can count the instances on one hand in the past 14 years. It was always done as a last resort & shock tactics & never done with any degree of force.

[dannyboy83]

Smacking, I suppose, is fine for the average respectable parent. But how many "f*cked up" parents are there out there that could abuse the right to smack their kid.

It's a tough one to call - and not really something that can be enforced as the smacking usually goes on in the home.

I agree with the majority above that I got the occasional smack and it stopped me behaving like a brat.

[Glenghis Khan]

This is interesting, because the New Zealand government is debating new anti-smacking legislation at the moment. I think it has its good points.

It was intended to stop smacking being a legal excuse for child abuse, but who knows if thats going to work anyway. I figure people who are going to abuse their children will abuse them anyway.

Police have the discretion to not prosecute, but still - smacking when its only smacking is perfectly acceptable to me. I don't know what to think.

[Steve B]

i think this thread is as relevant now as it was back in 2004 when it was started. I voted no, it shouldn't be made illegal.
I occasionally got a clip round the ear or a skelped arse when i was a youngster after doing something wrong, which i definitely did not do again.

If you look at every other mammalian species on the planet, who've been around for just as long as we have, look at the way that they instill discipline on their children. Just because we're intelligent, doesn't mean we cant be stupid.

[autopilot]

Wow, lots of old threads popping up at the mo.

Since i did not see this before, and as this form is so quite these days, i will add my tuppence;

A few yes ago, i would have voted no keep it. But after years of working with, and studying, children who are damaged, violent and have serious challenging behaviour i would have to vote yes to a ban now.

In an ideal world, where every parent was perfect then it should not be banned. The problem is so many people don't even know how to look after there own bloody kids properly. While smacking can be used in a positive way, albeit very rarely, i strongly believe that it would the lesser of 2 evils to get rid of it.

For me it's not even particularly even about abuse. The problem with smacking is that it teaches children from a very early age that hitting someone is an acceptable method of reacting to something you don't like.

I understand that sometimes if a 2 year old keeps trying to put his fingers in a power socket then a light slap is ok if nothing else works. Unfortunately, most of the millions of crap chav parents don't know when to stop of at which developmental stage of their child it needs to stop. It just shows a lack overall parenting skills, it's just the quick and easy thing to do. It's the lazy option and it's a short term solution that can have subtle but powerful long term effects on the mindset of a person. There is also so few occasions where it could be beneficial anyway.

It's also wrong i think to assume that there is a clear correlation between the state of society now and the fact that we used to have more corporal punishment. I think that's a lazy and narrow minded excuse for not facing up to the bigger problems with the world that contribute to the development of children. And why does everyone think that discipline = physical punishment? Talk about the can't be bothered approach to parenting.

I know many people here grew up decent people after their parents used smacking, but that's probably because you had bloody good parents. With the crap state society is in right now, large due to the increasingly poor state of parenting, we unfortunatly can't have one rule for some and one rule of others. Most kids who are smacked don't grow up with any serious problems. However, those that do virtually always have been smacked, so it clearly does not work anyway. Like i said, it's not a problem with smacking per say, or even whether is constitutes abuse or not - it's simply down the the fact that people don't know how to be parents any more. Ask that 15 year old chav wearing Burbry and smoking a fag while pushing her 3 kids down the road where the "line" is. That's the problem.

i will say it again; The problem with smacking is that it teaches children from a very early age that hitting someone is an acceptable method of reacting to something you don't like. You can't bet the child does not understand why what's it's doing is wrong. All it know is that the person (parent) slapping simply does not want them to do it. That's a powerful and deeply imprinted message for a child. The won't have a concept of force either, just that adults hit when they are unhappy with something. It's utterly pathetic.

So yes, ban it. It's not black and white and there are good argument for keeping it. I don't like to it banned particularly, but as i say it's the lesser of 2 evils if you know what i mean. I would like to own a gun, but i am happy give up my right to own one because there is a significant number of people who can't be trusted with them and it's possible to get by without one. I might even be tempted to have used it when it's not needed because i have had a hard day at work.

[Hans Voralberg]

Jeez this thread has been revived twice For all that I learn in psychology and my personal experience, smacking/slapping can be avoided and replaced with other means of disciplined. I'd suggest a legislation that make learning Psychology compulsory, that'll help.

[rootjuiceUK]

Nothing wrong with a slap on the hands, bum for misbehaving.

[dangel]

Beat the hell out of the little sods.

Never did me any harm.

[Akwaaba]

I'm a teacher and wouldn't want the responsibility to physically hit, smack or cane the students I teach. There is no place for this type of behaviour in schools.

At home, I do occasionally smack (actually smack sounds too harsh for the tap that is given! - never out of anger, only to discipline). I have noticed that as my children get older, as their ability to reason, understand boundaries and choose their own behaviour (if you do x then toy y will be taken from you, if you do z then reward A will be given), smacking is becoming more and more out of place.

On reflection, I have used smacking to help overcome difficulties that 2 and 3 year olds have with language, to emphasize that whilst taking a toy that your brother was playing with is naughty and maybe desrves 20 to 30 seconds in the naughty corner (i.e. I'd rather you didn't do that again), however, running away from your parents across a road deserves a smack (i.e. that should never happen again)

So I'm in the pro smacking camp, but never out of anger, and only to reinforce serious inappropriate behaviour. (oh and never in reponse to the child hitting another child - which seems very illogical!)

A smack, given in a loving relationship to a 2/3 year is far better than the shouting & screaming I've witnessed some parents give their children. I believe that what is said to a child can be far more hurtful than a smack

[Koolpc]

Some discipline in better than none at all.