The Spanking Debate

I am not ashamed to admit that I have spanked Crazy 1 and Crazy 2. I am not proud of this fact, but I am not ashamed either.

The definition of spank from Merriam-Webster is:
to strike especially on the buttocks with the open hand.

The only place I have spanked my children is on the buttocks, and only with an open hand, and usually through clothing and diapers. I do not spank my children to cause harm, but more to get their attention. I find just the threat of a spanking can easily change the behaviour of both Crazy 1 and Crazy 2. It only takes a couple of times to follow through with the threat for them to know that I am serious.

Some people say that by spanking them, I am teaching them that hitting is OK. I argue that if you teach them the difference between spanking and hitting that is not the case. Neither Crazy 1 nor Crazy 2 have been hitters, kickers or biters. Not to say they don't have tantrums, they can scream and cry with the best of them, they just really have never been overly physical in their demonstrations.

I don't believe that anyone else has the right to spank my child. I feel that this type of punishment should be solely at the discretion of a parent. I don't believe that I am harming my children. I know that many people out there do believe that and they are entitled to that opinion.

I think that discipline in general is something that is lacking with many children nowadays. I think every parent should find what works for them and stick with it and follow through. We use a combination of count downs, time outs, loosing privileges and spankings (most commonly used punishment is first). I also believe that every child reacts differently to different punishments and as the child gets older, the punishments need to change.

In the end, all I know is that the times that I have spanked my children, response from them is immediate and behaviour is corrected at once. More often than not, the behaviour is not repeated for a fair amount of time, if at all.