Spanking Children: Yay or Nay

[Talya Marsh]

I am a strong believer in spanking children for a couple of reasons. 1) I feel that if you don't spank a child, they will most likely do what they did to get into trouble in the first place. 2) My thinking is that if our parents were allowed to do it, then we should be allowed to do it.

Someone at the SlipstreamBBS has a relative that got a visit from the social services because a concerned mother saw her spank her child at a supermarket over that the child wanted something that she wouldn't allow. My thought was that it is just sad that people do not mind their own business anymore.

I am also tired of states that pass laws that prohibit spanking a child. They say that spanking a child is cruel and unusual punishment. To me that is not cruel and unusual. If they want to know what is cruel and unusual, they should go out and try to pull their own switch. Basically they would go out to the back yard, look at a couple of trees and say "Huh? Which one? If I get this one, it will break my spine, and if I get the other one, they will just send me back out here." While they would be doing it, their parents would be watching them and laughing themselves silly.

[starbase63]

The police officer who teaches my older daughter's DARE program has even said there is a difference between discipline and abuse. While he doesn't spank his own children, he says he is not against spanking as long it remains spanking and not knocking the you-know-what out of some little kid.
My kids know that if they've done something bad enough to be spanked or are being disobedient enough to earn one, they learn not to do what they did wrong again, and that Mommy and Daddy still love them even though they were bad.

[Anlashok Colin]

Hi There.I am in favour of spanking childern.As long as belts and such are not used!! At
school when i was there(long time ago!)the techers used the belt,would throw board dusters at you,clip your ear.If a teacher now done something like that,they would be charged with assault!We had a father appear in court over here because he was seen in public giving his child a spank,one spank!I hate to say it. but alot of todays youth has no respect for elders,teachers,and others.I was
brought up to respect people,give a woman, any elderly person my seat on the bus if they were standing.Open doors for people,give them the respect
they deserve.I showed my son a teachers belt,(i aquired it when
i was leaving school!)He was horrified!and said,"if they were
using it in schools today, i would never step out of line"Colin.<*>.

[rupertbear]

I think that you should smack children, otherwise how will they learn what is right, and what is wrong. There's nothing worse than when you are out shopping and some child is having a tantrum, because he/she can't have what he/she wants. As long as you don't bash them, a smack on the bum will not harm them. I was smacked as a child, and I turned out fine.