by Amelia Danielle

Created on: April 29, 2008

SHOULD CHILDREN REPORT THEIR PARENTS FOR SPANKING THEM? Should parents report their children for acting up? Not likely. Discipline, like most other aspects of family life, is a personal choice. Unless it boarders on abuse or neglect; a parent has every right to spank their child. People have gotten so wrapped up in the climbing rates of child abuse in this country, that their simply focused on the wrong culprits.

I can remember being a child of 5 or 6, my mother turning the car off in the parking lot of the grocery store. She'd turn around towards the back seat and give my older sister and I the same speech we got every time we'd go with her somewhere public. "I don't want you wining, or asking for anything. Don't act up in here because I brought my big spoon with me, and I have no problems smacking you in that store and then spanking you again when we get home. Understand?"

Of course we understood. The mere threat of a whack with that huge wooden spoon was enough to send shivers down my back. My sister and I would remain on our best behavior as children because both of our parents set the example that disobedience would not be tolerated and we'd be embarrassed and hurt if we chose to test their patience. I never saw this as abuse, and looking back I'm glad they kept us under such a close eye.

I think the main component to physically disciplining children is self control and logic. If you beat your child to a pulp, then they haven't learned anything but violence. If you hit them out of frustration, then they learn that hitting is what you do when your irritated. But if you tell them that the consequence to bad behavior is a spanking and then follow through, this teaches them to take your rules seriously and that they can't get away with misbehaving. At the age of 6; logically discussing the reasons why throwing a tantrum in public is bad manners will probably go over your child's head. Which is why physical discomfort seems to hit a more direct nerve. Once they've learned to respect your rules and requests and they get older, then talking to them logically takes on a new role and replaces spanking.

This method has worked on generations and generations of children and has only failed to work when misused or overindulged. Reporting parents who are teaching their children to be well behaved and not being abusive, would be more than just wrong, it would be counter effective.

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