The story that inspired my debate: http://news.yahoo.com/dad-caught-video-beating-daughter-needs-help-070228201.html Was reading a story on Yahoo News about 16 yr old girl who the dad beat with a belt... I personally think that children shouldn't be corporeally punished; that positive reinforcement of good habits works a lot better. For those of you who make the distinction, where is the line? To me, there is only hurting someone or not hurting them, I don't really see a huge difference in degree. I also think the intent is a big issue, is the intent to hurt the child, or is it a sort of last resort Pavlovian punishment designed to correspond pain with being "bad". I'm not writing this from some ultra liberal stance with no experience, my stepmother used to smack my brother and I around pretty good when my dad was at work.
I agree with Ronald. I was hit as a child by my father with his belts and the only thing it taught me was to hate and fear him. Hitting a child, regardless of any kind of good intention, is all abuse to me.
I agree that you should not hit a kid but i do think this oke too spank him if the kid did something (very) wrong. But hitting a 16 year old with a belt? if my parents were gonna hit me with a belt. i'd hit them back. I mean WTF is wrong with that dad?
Why? Why is hitting a 6 year old BETTER than hitting a 16 year old? They're both equally despicable to me.
My mother only hit me once with a sandal on my hands when i was little. Usually if we did something wrong then she would lock us in a empty room for between 1hr-to most of the afternoon (depending on whether we were still 'bad') Getting to the point punishment by hitting is pointless it causes the child to grow up wanting revenge and thus possibly expressing it outwardly on others (bullying)
No it does not, my parents spanked me as a child and I don't bully those weaker then me out of some retarted need for "revenge". People like that guy in this story are assholes who don't know how to parent, but just slapping your kid or spanking them when they really fuck up does no harm as long as you are not excessivley beating them and you make sure to explain what they did wrong and why they should not do it again.
I probably should have worded that better take 2 i was speaking of excessive beating and from what Ive seen most bullies are usually beaten at home which is what makes them bullies I wasn't speaking in general. If this answer still doesn't please you point it out so i may find a better approach to take
My mom never hit me, but she did put the fear of God in me. She doesn't drop guilt bombs, she drops guilt nukes. No matter how justified I felt, I still felt like crap after she yelled at me about it. And when I did something wrong, it wasn't "No phone for a week" or something, it was "You can sit here on the couch, and that's it." I think hitting goes across the line when it becomes beating. If you give the kid a little rap on the knuckles or spank them or something, it isn't bad, and usually its more about the embarrassment then the pain. I've seen the opposite extreme, which for the most part, is just sad.
Ok I agree with this, parents excessivly beating their kids can defintly turn that kid into a bully(although that is not the only cause).
Maybe because I'm Asian, I see this issue in a different light.I don't condone the father's actions, because it is clearly abuse, but I'm not against hitting kids.I've been hit many times in my childhood, both at home and in school, yet I don't regard any of those experiences traumatic in anyway, and they only hit me after I've been warned many times. My experiences hasn't made me any violent than anyone else, nor do I think violence is the way solve any problems. You might think my parents are monstrous people, but they're pretty decent folks.What I'm trying say here is, they didn't hit me out of a whim or psychotic rage, they hit me because I was doing something wrong. I know there are other ways to punish your kid without use of force, but that was the way they punished me. There is nothing inherently evil about a slap or spanking, it's only when people start abusing their children when it becomes evil. I hope that made any sense because I'm so tired.
I didn't mea it like that like I said you should not HIT your child. I meant it that a 16 year old should be smart enough too know when they did something. A 6 year old probably does not and needs to be tought that. But i'm not saying you need to teach he by hitting him.
Hitting your kids in any way crosses the line, no matter what a kid does he should never get hit (unless it is in selfdefence). You should reward good behaviour and punish bad behaviour but never with physical harm.
Where's the line? It's across the child's back! Sorry. Anyway, i'd say beat on that brat! Never did me any harm, primarily 'cos it didn't happen. Being told was enough, and with that instilled in me from a very young age, I (and my younger siblings to a lesser extent) were always quiet and did as we were told. We also couldn't go out anywhere without my parents being told what well-behaved children they had. So, I guess what i'm trying to say is that parents should be firm about boundaries from a very young age, so that later on, they don't have to worry about the possibility of having to beat their child, because they know said child is unlikely to ever question their judgement or continue to misbehave if challenged. Maybe that is why I have so much faith in authority and the state. Bwah ha ha ha ha!
