Using a belt to punish my children?

Question

Question:

Once I was miss-behaving in class (was in grade 3) and was suspended for a day for swearing at the teacher my dad came, picked me up fom school took me home and made me lie down on the bed and hit me at least 5-6 times on my but while yelling at me never to do this gain. Then I had to stay in my room for the hole day!

Of course I did not do it again

Question

If i discipline MY children l**k this can I be prosecuted?

Because if these naughty kids get the c**p beaten out of them, they will LEARN not to do it again!!

Answer 1

baddd memories. don't do it. Cause when they're my age they'll get pissed a lot more. Just take there stuff away don't hit them. Thats going to teach them that its okay to hit people.

Answer 2

there is no law agaist spanking a child. there is a difference between discipline and beating.

Answer 3

OK Look, I have 5 children, 3 of them are teenage girls and two are twin boys, age 4. I have NEVER used a belt as punishment. Of course you never did it again, and obviously that stuck with you your whole life. However scaring and physically harming a child is probably not the best form of discipline. Think about it, you beat them half to death, screaming and yelling the whole time, yeah they may never do again what they were being punished for, BUT, now you have a kid who's scared to death of you, is never going to confide anything in you, for fear of your reaction. Yeah kids mess up, they do stupid things out of rage and lack of self control. But parents don't we think we're teaching that by lashing out of the same emotions? I can tell you there are alot of punishments that work better than beating, and yelling.Grounding, time outs, loss of priveledges, just to say a few. Talk to your kids, explain why they are wrong and work out a consequence that fits the crime. And also, yeah, in some states you can have your children removed from your home and face criminal charges for child abuse and child endangerment. Good luck and love your children, they are like tiny reflections of you.

Answer 4

It is actually not illegal to SPANK not beat your child with a belt.  As long as there is no marks 24 hours after the incident.  I agree that kids should be spanked and my daughter is.

Answer 5

My old man used to whip us with a belt like yard dogs, but only when we deserved it. Needless to say, we did not act up. You can't touch your little darlings nowadays without some idiot screaming "child abuse". Maybe that's why kids are so spoiled and screwed up.

Answer 6

If you had taught them from the beginning it was not acceptable behavior, there is no need to beat the c**p out of them.

No one should beat the c**p out of a child. There is a difference between a spanking and beating the c**p out of a child.

YOUR children should have LEARNED what is and is not acceptable behavior from the start. If you have allowed it and now want to suddenly stop it with a belt, YOU need the c**p beat out of YOU.

Edit:  I agree a parent has a right to spank their child, but no decent parent that chooses spanking refers to it as beating the c**p out of them!

Answer 7

no you can't get prosecuted for spanking your child. My parents did the same thing to me and my other sibling when we were younger. If you spank your child it for there own good and sometimes gets them to stop acting up. Now beating your child is different. Don't beat them thats how you end up in jail

Answer 8

People who beat their children shouldn't be allowed to have them!  Just because your dad did it to you doesn't make it right.  Beating your kids just teaches them that its ok to use violence to get what they want, try loving them instead!

Answer 9

That is child abuse, yes.

Do your kids a favor and hand them over to CPS now.

Answer 10

WHY THE h**l WOULD YOU WANT TO ABUSE YOUR CHILDREN??? GO SEE A THEREPIST!!!!!

Answer 11

It depends what state!

Answer 12

I agree with spanking children!  I was spanked and i think i turned out alright!  BUT i could probably count on one maybe both hands how many times in my entire childhood i was spanked!  And trust me i deserved it!

My grandmother never spanked me when she was angry, because i think thats when parents can get carried away!  And the punishment always fit the crime, for example, if i hurt my sister, i got a spanking.  I swore or mouthed off, i got tobasco sauce.  

I intend to spank my kids, but only if that fits what they did! but not for everything little thing they do!

And people who feel that any type of physical discipline is abuse, man, take a look at their kids!  Most of them could use a good swift kick!  (just from the kids i've met!)

I don't feel it's abuse unto you start abusing it!  I never had bruises and my grandmother never yelled at me!  Therefore i felt i deserved what i got, and yes it did help me to learn not to do it again.

**Spanking and beating are two completely SEPARATE things!!!**

Answer 13

it depends on what state or country you are in. some states you are allowed to discipline your children, and other states are trying to use corrective methods instead.

Answer 14

If you can't get your children to listen to you without hitting them, then you need to work on your parent/child relationship.  I believe striking your child will only make them afraid of you.

Answer 15

Do not do that!

That is child abuse

They will be so scared ...

1) they wont go near you

2) they will be so scared they will not talk that much cuz thy will be afriad they might say something

3) the child will learn that that is OK to do. they will treat other kids and ppl and even their own kids that way. they will be a bully

AWSNSWER MT QUESTION

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/;_ylc=...

Answer 16

Yes, you could have your children removed from you by the Child Protection Service AND you could be criminally prosecuted for assaulting a minor.

You wouldn't be able to do this to an adult, so why should you be able to do it to a child ?

Answer 17

Like you, I grew up in a household where spanking is the punishment for a wrongdoing.  It did make me and my sisters learn.

I am for it!  As long as it doesn't leave a mark a few hours after you spank your kids.  Discipline is really needed.

Answer 18

My parents lived by the leather belt and let me tell ya this. It never made ANY of us stop doing anything! It made us sneakier, better liars, and it made us HATE our parents and when each of us reached 18 or even 16,  we left that place and never looked back. If you think beating is the answer do your kids a favor and give them to someone who will discipline them, not abuse them!

Answer 19

hitting a child is wrong and doesn't teach them anything but fear

Answer 20

No,just you learn children that  agression is correct,they will use that to other children force and brutality. One child like you will never do again,other child will hiding their faults to not be see by you. Then child will be cheating. It create nothing good. Better talk to child to understand their faults.

Answer 21

DONT DO IT

DONT DO IT

DONT DO IT

DONT DO IT

DONT DO IT

Answer 22

Do you actually think that you were incapable of learning how to behave any other way?

How about your kids?  What do you think they are capable of, intellectually?   And, what do you think you are capable of, as a teacher?

Answer 23

Bet you wish you hadn't asked. As you can see, a bit of a controversial topic. I personally think that parenting is one of the hardest jobs on this planet. There is no manual issued on birth and if you try using help-books, they all contradict each other! All I can suggest is that you have to do what you feel is right. If you have to ask the question as you have, does that mean you have doubts? If you have doubts, should they not be resolved in your child's favour? In the UK, using a belt would probably be illegal now. Reasonable chastisement is allowed. And that depends on the circumstances. I have to admit personally, I used to be a big supporter of the smack with the hand on the bottom. Now, I find withdrawal of TV, gameboys, playstations, going out, etc to be much more effective, but perhaps that is down to them getting older and being able to "reason" (as far as you can reason with teenagers) with them.

Hope that helps. Good luck

Answer 24

It depends on how hard you hit the kid. Some violence is apparently ok if done in the name of discipline.

I want to thank you for beating your kid with a weapon.  If you didn't make your son understand that love and violence are intertwined then we wouldn't have wife beating any more.  And if your daughter didn't get that their loved ones beat them because they love them, then where would we get our next generation of p**n stars and strippers?

Answer 25

This is not a suitable consequence - this is punishment and is abuse.

Read "Boundaries with Kids" by Townsend and Cloud.  It will help.

Also, for your self, read "Boundaries - when to say yes, how to say no to take control of your life" by the same authors.

Rule of thumb: don't ever hit your kids with anything that wasn't attached to you by God...  If you HAVE to spank, like when they run out in to the street.. use the palm of your hand on the fatty part of the butt.

My mom used to use hairbrushes to spank me, and cooking utensils...  I can still feel the sting, but have no idea what I'd done to "deserve" it - so the "lesson" was totally  lost, and I can barely handle a playful pat on the butt from my boyfriend now.

Answer 26

You parents that smack your kids are c**p parents who just don't know how else to handle your kids. You can't cope & lose the plot cos you haven't done a good job at teaching them right from wrong in the first place. Don't take it out on the kids cos you haven't got a clue, go to parenting classes & learn how to be a parent. I have two well behaved kids, 5 & 2, they have lovely manners too. I couldn't bring myself to hit them as i love them so much.

You & your dad both need locking up! I was smacked too as a child but i never felt the need to copy my dad. God some people.

Answer 27

I'm sorry that happened to you.... there have been many theoretical advances in child rearing since then, and this is no longer an acceptable form of "discipline".  Discipline means, "to teach"- it has gotten the negative connotation of "punishment" over the years, based on reactions like your dad's.  Nowadays, the theories revolve more around making the "punishment fit the crime" or "natural consequences".  Natural consequences (also sometimes called 'logical consequences') are consequences that are linked to the problem.  In example: you tell your child not to tip their chair because they will fall and hurt their head, consequence- they tip their chair again, and hit their head on the ground.  Cause/effect is the most concrete way to get the point across.  Did you really learn that you shouldn't swear at adults, or did you learn that it is not worth it for your dad to catch you?  The point of discipline is to teach children how you WANT them to behave- not how you don't want them to behave.  This means, tell them what you expect of their behavior.  It does no good to tell a child to "stop doing that", because they have no idea what they are supposed to do instead!  Instead, phrase directives like: "Please sit on your bottom", or "walking feet", or "feet stay on the ground".  This way, your children know what behavior they are expected to do.  

And, to answer your question, yes- you can be prosecuted for abuse for using anything other than your open hand, to provide "light" swats to a child's behind.  If you leave a mark, or use a fist, or an object (belt, spoon, rope), you can be prosecuted for child abuse.  Believe me, you can find other ways to manage children's behavior (I have been a preschool teacher for more than 15 years, and as such, I've had to find plenty of other ways to get children to mind... I'd lose my job if I disciplined someone else's child by swatting them).  It seems like an easy way to punish a child for inappropriate behavior, but it really is a degrading form of punishment- not "discipline"... teach a child what you want them TO do- it's much easier for everyone in the long run.

Answer 28

It's not illegal, although many people will tell you it is wrong, it's not if you choose to use this method. I wouldn't personally ever do it, but it's your choice.

Answer 29

spanking is not child abuse as long as you dont "beat the c**p out of them" like you said then you should be fine. although there are other methods. my mom used to spank us with wooden spoons when we were bad lol

Answer 30

Honey, can you learn how to be a good parent without touching your children in this kind of manner? If you were to have some mother ask you this, wouldn't you feel sorry for those children and look down upon the mother? If you want people to look down upon you like this than do what you want. But this is no way to treat a child no matter how they are behaving. If it gets that bad then put them into counseling.

Answer 31

CHILD ABUSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! DON'T EVER DO THAT TO A CHILD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!