12:50 p.m. - 2007-04-21
TO SPANK OR NOT TO SPANK, THAT IS THE QUESTION
THERE IS ANOTHER ENTRY FOR TODAY AFTER THIS ONE...
This was a writing challenge on another blog....
KWEEN OF QUEENS CURRENT CHALLENGE
The subject will be SPANKING CHILDREN...OR NOT????????
This is a very difficult question to answer.
Raising children is nothing like it was before when we were in our own childhood.
We had respect for our elders, our neighbors, our teachers and relatives and especially for our parents.
When I was young and even when our son was young, it was such a different world. When our son was a very young child, before he was even in school; his behavior was not difficult to handle.
A few brief words of displeasure and an small explanation of why his behavior was improper; was usually all he needed.
Oh yes, there were a couple of times when I felt it was necessary to spank him once or twice on the behind. Once, when he hid from me in a clothing store and I was frightened that he had wandered outside. (Way before we all worried about pedophiles in our neighborhoods).
I think his father spanked him once when he threw a rock at a neighbor's car...he was about 2 years old. So in those cases, I certainly felt that a spanking was in order. It was a brief but effective way to communicate that he had misbehaved.
There is a huge difference between spanking and beating and/or abusing a child. There are some people who can not control their tempers and once they start spanking; it turns into a really bad situation.
Anyone who makes the decision to spank their child must be absolutely sure they will only spank once or twice on the bottom. The adult must be in control of his temper and explain the reason for the punishment so the child will understand why his behavior was inappropriate.
I think that living in the current time; we can find a much more successful way to discipline and teach our children. The best discipline I think is to take away a privilege such as watching tv, playing on the computer, playing video games, staying inside when friends are outside and/or being "grounded". Removing something that the child likes is going to make them think about what they did to cause the discipline. When our children get older, taking away allowances, driving privileges or not being able to go to a party or meet friends can be very effective.
THIS IS ONLY MY OPINION.....
