by Robin Tidwell

Created on: June 14, 2009   Last Updated: April 29, 2010

Of course, there are reasons why you shouldn't spank a child - an accidental spill, a misdirected baseball that results in a broken window, or even an injury inflicted on a sibling during a parent-sanctioned wrestling match.

Then again, there are times a child surely should be spanked: deliberately trashing their room, or stealing money from Mom's wallet, or simply engaging in repeated, willful disobedience and mayhem.

There are spankers and non-spankers, and many myths are perpetuated by the second group of parents against the first. Some claim that spanking is abuse, that spanking leaves bruises. Untrue. Abuse is defined by the word "beating" which is certainly not the equivalent of a swat on the behind. Abuse leaves bruises and marks - a spank does not.

A funny thing is that many who claim to be anti-spanking do indeed tap or even swat their children's hands say, for example, reaching out for a hot stove burner or attempting to stick something in an outlet. They seem not to understand the difference between a smack on the hand or a pop on the rear.

Others claim that spanking traumatizes a child. A bet could safely be placed that many adults today have little recollection of an actual spank - but they stopped the behavior that warranted that spank, immediately. Few, too, could be found who claim trauma or abuse due to spanking; they merely have chosen the modern bane of parenting: reasoning and lecturing.

Not all children should be spanked - and not all should or can be reasoned with as an alternative.

Prior to about age six or seven, a child cannot be reasoned with; they do not have that capacity, or they will forget with a short span of time. There is nothing more entertaining than watching a parent of a toddler try to reason with said child, during, for example, a grocery store outing. The child has already been told "no" many times, and the parent merely stands there, waiting for the child to repeat the behavior so he can lecture him on proper manners.

Removal from the situation will indeed stop a child; distraction works too. But neither is a permanent solution for many behaviors or, on the other side of the equation, many children.

Parents who spank do not routinely lash out at a child for every infraction; neither do they promote or engage in violence, as many anti-spankers claim. A swat on the behind does not equate with hitting a child. Think about it: a mental picture of an individual hitting another usually conjures up a slugfest or a brawl;

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