Is it right to smack children when there playing up?

Question

not saying i do just seeing what people think

Answer 1

If you are a c**p parent who is incapable of disciplining your children without administering physical violence, then of course it's OK.  And if you wish to raise a child who will grow into an adult, who thinks that the way to deal with people who are annoying them, is to assault them, then of course it's OK!!!

Anyone who has to resort to physically asaulting their child to keep them in line has officially failed as a parent.

I would never smack my children in a million years, and I think that people who do; should be charged with physical assault.  If *I* hit someone - another adult - who was pissing me off or being 'naughty'  I would expect to either - be hit back - OR Be charged with assault.  Why on earth should the rules be different regarding children?

Answer 2

i believe so, i mean i was smacked when i done wrong as a child and i never done it again.  Thats part of whats wrong with today society you cant correct your own child without fear of being questioned by police.  As always though there is a line.

Answer 3

no, never.You smack them because they are  not that strong to resist u or u can smack them easily.This way u are using ur power against little creature thinking that it is for his  benefit.but there are other ways to teach them decipline. try them!smacking is the easiest but the bad one.

Answer 4

i think it's fine, as long as it's not excessive, people take things too far, but a smack on the bum never did me any harm when i was young, or even now for that matter!

Answer 5

Honestly i think its awful to do. It just can scare the children and they wont be as social with whoevers abbusing them please whoever you know whos doing this tell them to stop

Answer 6

No.

I rarely smack my children and any time I have I have felt AWFUL afterwards because it was due to my own bad-temper and inadequacy. There is always a better way to deal with misbehaviour.

Answer 7

Yes smack them to teach them

Answer 8

Wheras violence against children is abhorent, there comes a time when all else has failed, that a smack on the back of the hand to emphasise the point you are trying to make could be said to be justified, but this must be used only as a last resort.

Answer 9

No. We use "time outs" and it seems to work fine. The kids hate it, so they know it's punishment, but we don't have to physically abuse them and suffer the guilt. It's win-win.

If they're REALLY acting out, we send them to their room.

(Taking away TV rights or dessert is good, too. You've got be ready to let 'em cry it out, though.)

Answer 10

yes i think so

i used to get a slap never did me any harm  

Answer 11

I was a lot of trouble and giving me a smack shut me up for a few weeks...

Answer 12

no not necessarily.

i.e.  hitting a child because they hit someone else (hitting being 'wrong') would teach the child hypocrisy and promote violence. Also the child would get frustrated and confused if you got carried away.

The child would grow to respect you more if you explain to them what they did was wrong instead of you freaking out about little things.

If you hit them constantly they will just grow to hate you.

Answer 13

Most definately not!  I STRONGLY DISAGREE WITH THIS!

You should never ever ever smack a child.  If you are having to do this then you clearly are not bringing your kids up correctly.  I appreciate that some children are naughtier than other but they should love and respect you not want to do naughty things.

If you hit your child, then the chances are that they will hit their children when they are older.  In this day and age now, violence is becoming a lot worse that it used to be and you often hear of parents killing their children or visa versa..  Do not let yourself be a person who is going to make your grandchildren get hurt!

Answer 14

No its not right to smack a child when they are playing up.  Its never right to hit a child.  

There are other more effective ways to discipline a child such as grounding them or taking away their favourite toy or stopping them watching TV or going on the computer.

Answer 15

not really because it does not work. we punish them in other ways such as grounding or not letting them watch their favourite tv programmes for a while. smacking them teaches them to solve problems in a violent way and they they will recreate this with their siblings or friends.

edit- also creating boundries is an effective means of discipline, my kids get warned long before fighting or being rude outside of the home takes place. they know when i will start to warn them and that is usually as far as they will take things.

Answer 16

i think its wrong to smack children even though they've done something they shouldt do and they only playing and if they done something wrong you should teach them

Answer 17

Well you are going to get a right ol reaction to this - with the usual arguments. Trouble is that many people are incapable of distinguishing between a light slap across the wrist and beating someone up.

We used to get the leather belt across the hand at school when I was a kid and I got my fair share. Did it stop me doing what I had done wrong?Yes it did. As a punishment it was effective, quickly dealt with and soon we all moved on. Do I feel like I was physically abused as a child? No i don't, I deserved it and it worked.

I don't think that it should be used as the only discipline but when the time warrants and it is serious enough - for example when the kid is about to put him/her self into danger and an instant reaction is required then yes, it is justified and I have used it. Do I feel bad about giving my wee lad a slap across the wrist? No I don't because he did not think again about running out into the street when my back was turned. He is now a lot safer, aware and alive.

I also don;t give a toss if any of the sancti*monious bit*ches above call me a bad parent for it. I know I am not.

Answer 18

YES!! Spanking is a way of discipline that has been mis-used and mis-understood by many people. Many think that spanking is abusing. If that is the case, then does that mean poking a girl on the arm mean sexually assulting her? Spanking is a very useful mean of discipline, as long as it doesn't get out of hand. Also, previous warnings should be given before spanking. The degree of spanking also depends on the situation. If it is something light, but you have been continuously waning them, you should spank them, hit them 2-3 times. Anything more serious, parents make the decision. the idea behind spanking is to let the kids remember to not do what they did again, just like how you learned to not touch fire. Cuz it burns. You got burned once and learned to not play with it again. Spanking only works during the young ages, as the kid grows up, spank less and talk to them instead.  

Answer 19

Hi,

I think you can discipline your  children without having to smack them.

If playing up then they may just be bored and need to be stimulated and attention diverted onto something else.

If they have siblings and are fighting then how is a smack going to teach them that violence is unacceptable.

Smacking a child shows you lost control.

Firm and consistent discipline works just as well.

Lx  

Answer 20

Yes - and when they're not, just in case they do.

EDIT: more seriously, for the likes of 'crazy girl' - keep you're half-formed and ill-educated opinions to yourself. So smacking children will lead to an increase in violence, will it? So how is it, then, that violence has demonstrably increased since people *stopped* adequately disciplining their children?

Go back a few years. Kids were smacked at home, caned at school, then sent on national service - and they grew up to respect authority. Your hippy 'they're not my children, they're my little friends' attitude embodies every single failed parent out there.

It's not the only way - may not even be the best way, for some kids - but to suggest that it will make them all grow up to be violent sociopaths is quite simply retarded.

Answer 21

Hi it just really depends on what you child is doing etc, I think a good firm telling off will do as you dont need to smack a child for something that isnt really nesscary really, but if a child is say hitting the parent and just wont behave then there is a need of a smack just enought to shock the child in not to doing it again, but sometimes parents hit children too much where they are scared to do anything and I dont think that is right, a child doesnt need to smacked everytime the parent thinks they have done something wrong.

I do agree thought nowadays some of the little brats that are about do get away with murder and probably could benefit from a smack, but they are really bad children that hit there own parents and disrepect them, but it shows thought on supernanny that you dont have to smack a child for the child to understand and know whats wrong and right.  

Answer 22

Well, I am not against spanking when it's necessary, but I don't think there is any reason ever to "smack" a child. It seems people smack their kids out of anger instead of trying to properly discipline them.  

Answer 23

It's dreadful to smack a child, we are there to train/guide/teach them so they grow up to be nice respectable adults.

If you get a new job and you are learning your duties, if you made a mistake, you wouldn't expect the manager to smack you one, so why smack children, it's the same principle. Talk, explain things as to why they shouldn't do this or that. When they're toddlers distract them from anything they shouldn't be doing [like twiddling with the TV or recorder, fire etc]  call them to come and look at this...have a toy or something. When they get something right you praise them so that they are hearing positive things and not negative all the time. Most of all tell them you love them and cuddle them often

Answer 24

The argument that we live in a more violent society today and it is caused by smacking our children is RUBBISH.  Society is more violent today because we DON'T smack our children.

Do these dogooders really think that telling a child you are dissapointed by its behaviour will cause it to think twice next time?  Don't make me laugh.  Nobody likes pain, a smack causes pain and if it becomes associated with having been naughty, a child will learn to behave a d**n sight faster than if all you do is say "Don't torture that cat please, Buttercup"!

My daughter kept refusing to cover her mouth when she coughed so we brought in a rule that every time she coughed without covering her nouth, she would get a light smack on the leg.  By the end of day 2, she covered her mouth and now does so every time.

Don't anybody dare tell me smacking is wrong and ineffective!