Should a 15 month old child be smacked?

Question

I asked a question earlier today about how I could stop my 15 month old from putting stones in his mouth, and the majority of answers I received suggested that verbally telling him 'no' was not enough and that I should smack him (on the bottom or the hand).

I am not 'anti-smacking', but I feel that 15 months old is too young for a child to be smacked, no matter how lightly.

What is your opinion on this?

Answer 1

smacking a child doesn't work it just proves you have lost control and it makes your child resent you not respect you which is what you need.

tell your child no and if he does it again remove him from the situation IE, if your in the back garden when he does it then get him to sit on the back door step and explain to him why he is there and that he can go back and play again if he stops putting the stones in is mouth. if he puts them in his mouth again then keep repeating the step thing he will learn that he can play if he does as he is asked.  it make take a few goes but be consistent it will pay off.

Answer 2

If you mean in the face NO never at any age is that ok.........BUT on the hand yes..........still may be to young for on the bottom........I know it sounds stupid but you have to make him understand that they will hurt him.........tell him owie or ouchie over and over when he does it or show it to him and tell him. My 19 month old used to go to the stove alot which made me nervous so I have taught her oucie hot!! Now she goes over to it and says HOT

Answer 3

they're pretty sensitive, so dont like wind up and wack them... but giving them a bit of a smack on the hand is usually what it takes...

they may not fully understand your firm tone, so you want to say no firmly while smacking them, so they can associate it with sort of.... unpleasantness (>) i guess...

it's not cruel or anything... they just need something to associate your tone, and that they are doing something wrong

Answer 4

It is too young. 15 months olds don't actually understand the meaning of smack as a punishment, they should understand parent changing the tone of voice and body language. The smack will give tham angst, but won't get the message across.

So no. No smacking at such a young age.

Answer 5

You are right!  A 15 mo old has to be taught, not hit!  They don't understand not to put things in thier mouths and they aren't going to understand being smacked either!  I find it hard to believe so many people have no parenting skills at all!  No wonder there are so many enragded people out there shooting the place up!  I'd want to shoot the place up too if my parents had smacked me from 15 months on!

Answer 6

I think a light tap on the hand or back of the leg is okay, but not an actual smack...it's a little early for that.

And, oh, my! Smacking is abuse?? I was smacked as a child, if I did something wrong, and it never harmed me socially, I don't resent my parents, and if my nearly 3 year old daughter misbehaves, she gets told off a couple of times and if she doesn't stop, the 3rd time she gets a smack on the back of the leg...bring on the thumbs down...

Answer 7

If u smak your child- do it lightly saying no. & i put him in his play pin with none of his toys. he'll eventually know the deal. you can try that smacking him lightly or not. your the moma- its up to you. just isolate him from his toys for a lil. like a time out. if he crys cause he doesnt want to be in the play pin, let him be. h**l quiet down & most likely take a nap then when he wakes up take him out. hope this works.

Answer 8

i absolutely agree the child does not know what its doing so it doesn't deserve to be smacked and there a various of other methods you can use rather than smacking. You should put him on the famous naughty step or tell him off and tell him that is naughty. But whatever you do dont resort to smacking a child as the child wont listen to you at all and will lose all respect for you.

hope i have helped!

Answer 9

Its not like your smacking your child in the face or something like you, just a little tap on the hand or the bottom(if they are wearing a diaper they wont even feel it) If you wait till they are to old to start disciplining them then they wont understand why mommy use to let them but wont anymore! get what im saying?

Answer 10

Stones in his mouth may seem bad, but really those germs are helping build his immune system.  No smacking in this case.  If he were to run into the street a smack on the bottom would be in order as running into the street really is a dangerous thing.  Telling him no in this case should be okay.

Answer 11

I dont believe children should be smacked @ any age. I would take the stones out of his mouth & replace them with something that was okay to play with I would tell him dont do that, or no in a firm voice But thats really about as far as I would go with it At 15 months old they are still pretty young

Answer 12

I am a mother of two boys and when they were little I did not pick up all of my nick nacks and things I didn't want them to touch I simply started smacking their hands when they touched things they should not and after 2 years old I have never had to lay another hand on my children.  If you teach them when they are young you will have the rest of their childhood to have fun with them.  The parents who don't want to stop bad behavior early are the ones who have screaming kids in walmart that everyone wants to beat.

Answer 13

the only time to condone "smacking" a child is when I feel that he is involving himself in a dangerous activity  numerous times IE>...  running into the road , water, playing with knives.   I believe that if the child is putting stones into his mouth it could mean that she is experimenting with her tastebuds  also there is a disease which is a mineral deficiency called pica.. which you should ask the pediatrician about.. the childs lacks a certain mineral in her body and she may be feeling better because those minerals are found in stones, metal and such... dont smack a child unless it is warranted.

Answer 14

i dont think its something your child should be "smacked" for!  there are other ways to discipline your child... but smacking him is not a fair punishment for doing something that he doesnt really understand is wrong. yes he should be disciplined... but in another way that isnt smacking your child (hand, bottom or wherever).

Answer 15

Pat him. Don't use force that would hurt him. Get him to understand that getting patted on the back of the hand is a bad thing, and it'll have the same effect as if you smacked him.

Don't want to sound like i'm giving you advice on how to train a dog =P but yeh, telling him "no, don't put stones in your mouth, you'll hurt yourself!" in a slightly angry way, and having a stern face, while patting him on the back of the hand (make sure it's like a smack but won't hurt him. You don't want to confuse him with a affectionate pat or something).

Thats the best i can think of. Hope it helped =)

Answer 16

My opinion is, if he understands that 'no' means you want him to stop, and he still does it, he is old enough for a smack on the hand or a swat on the backside. For kids that age, you should definitely not do it hard (you should NEVER do it hard enough to really hurt them) but for most toddlers a light smack is enough because it hurts their feelings more than anything else. Make sure once he gets the idea, you praise him and give him hugs and kisses. :)

Answer 17

im really not sure about the smacking thing, but i find if you lightly tap the back of their hand with 1 finger, its far from hurting them, and then placing them in a different location, does make them realize they arent suppose to do that

Answer 18

First of all you have to remove him from the situation of eating the stones, if after a stern "NO" that is dirty or naughty does not work then a small tap on the hand as they go to put the stone in the mouth would work - me personally I raise my voice and the kids know my bark is worse than my bite!

It is all to do with how you have raised him so far, if you have let him get away with stuff then he will think eating stones is the norm.

I have smacked the children before though, but only if the situation was potentially dangerous (ie eating stuff they should not or trying to play dodge the car, you get the picture)

Answer 19

I don't think he should be "smacked" or spanked.  But... if you catch him in the act of almost putting the rock or electrical cord or other hazard in his mouth, a well timed "NO!" with a little whack on the hand might get the point across if he is not responding to just saying "no."  Remember also try not to use the word in a cutesy way like, "no no no honey, that rock is dirty, " or he will think you're not serious.  My pediatrician gave us that advice about not sounding cute when we say "no" and to try to use a lower tone of voice.  I do think the physical correction should be a last resort only, and more just to get the rock away from his mouth than to really hurt him.

(Also to clarify, I in no way think a child that young should be spanked as a means of punishment after the fact. He will not realize what he did wrong.)

Answer 20

i thnk it depends on the smack so to speak. a smack on the hand that doesn't hurt the child is not the same as smacking a child and leaving fingermarks.

Although i think it has been proven  that neither sort is ever that effective in behaviour management.

I guess if you think that smacking your 15 month's old hand would stop them from doing it again and potentially choking hten it would be justifiable but in my experience the more you tell a child off for something the more appealing it becomes. i know it is hard but i would just ignore it, maybe say something like yucky and they will soon become bored adn realise thre are far more appealing things to put in their mouths such as cigarette butts, dog poo and the like!

Answer 21

no, i don't think it's wrong at all. my sister says that too and that's why her child smacks her in the face and acts up. i think you need to start with spatting their hand. then, go to popping their butt if it doesn't work. I think 8 months and up is fine to do this. just me...

Answer 22

Hes 15 months old hes going to put things in his mouth and doesnt understand when you say no!Smacking him is going to get you nowhere.Just watch him with what hes putting in his mouth and take it off him telling him not to put it in his mouth,He will learn.Dont shout at him,smack him or tell him no hes a bloody baby!

Answer 23

I'm not a super religious person or anything, but I know for a fact that "spare the rod, spoil the child" is not in the bible anywhere.  The bible talks about the rod and disciplining your child.  You choose the means of discipline and don't let anyone tell you your method is wrong.  Everyone is always going to have their own opinion on the matter of spanking. What matters is yours.  Smack him on the hand and tell him no when he does things like that.  That's what I did with my son and he is 5 now.  When he was nursing and was a yr old and used to bite me, I would smack him on the cheek and tell him no don't bite and he got the message real quick.  Spanking , in my opinion is not child abuse.  Beating your child is.  A smack on the hand or butt is nothing and normally gets the point across.  If you don't start disciplining at a young age your child will never learn.

Answer 24

I do have a moral stance on the smacking of children, which is no, and practically, a 15 month old is too young to understand action and consequence so all smacking would do is encourage them to copy.  So it would be pointless as well as not very nice.

Answer 25

NO child should be smacked.

The way I see it is why would anyone want to hurt their child ON PURPOSE?

Just be consistant, keep saying no or remove him from where the stones are.

It may take a while for him to get it, but I'm sure he will, lol.

Take care you, Lulu x

Answer 26

that is much too young, in fact i dont beleive in smacking at all. i sugguest you tell him the stones can make him sick, and hurt his stomach. he might not completely understand but if you hold up a stone and shake your head while you say it, and say it in a stern manner.... i think he'll get the picture.

Answer 27

I think that he is too young for this definately. I'm not saying that in my days of babysitting i haven't wanted to strangle a kid or two but when I see people hitting their kids I really think that it is a sad sight of how savage human beings can be and almost  how animal we can be.

With that being said here is another idea. Try getting a couple of smooth stones- large enough that he can't swallow. Wash them and then rub them with something that tastes really unpleasant- maybe tobasco- something that is edible but wont be pleasant to  a babies sensibilities. Place the rocks in his play area and he will most likely pick them up and put them in his mouth. This should be really unpleasant and maybe he will begin to associate stones with a burning or unpleasant taste. Conditioning at its best.

Other than that a 'no' is really the only other option- try to be consisitant as well that should help. Good luck!

Answer 28

i have a younger sister and i know that telling the child no is not enough. just tap the child lightly on the hand or the bottom...you're just trying to teach the child not hurt him/her. you could try just saying no at first and if that doesnt work then try the "spanking". good luck with it.

Answer 29

Well if it's the first time, a strong no is sufficient. If it's repeated then I believe a smack on the hand is OK, just as long as it is while the action is happening not after because then they won't even know why they're being hit.

this also helps to show how your child responds to punishment if they behave with a stern talking to then they don't have to be hit.

Answer 30

I guess my Mom had the same problem with my sister, and she went to the doctor for any suggestions and he said get a spray bottle fill it with water and everytime she didnt listen then spray her in the face, yeah it sounds pretty cruel!!, but i guess it worked!..

=]

Answer 31

watch "tom and kate plus 8" on the tlc channel, they discipline their  children pretty well using the timeout corner.  also watch "supernanny"..  i dont like seeing parents hitting their children...the other day in the elevator a woman punched her son in the mouth because he put candy that fell on the floor in his mouth.