Reply #15: In a sense, I agree that corp. punishment does not work. [View All]

[UdoKier]

I have seen parents that do it often, and their kids do NOT behave better. We used to do it more often with our kids and it did not help.

I have told my kids that I don not want to spank them because they are people too, and it's not right to hit people. Their punishments are almost exclusively in the form of time-outs and deprivation of toys or privileges.

However, I have also told them that If I come home to find they have set the curtains on fire or something really ridiculous like that, They may get a spanking, because there is a limit. But like I said, it's been a couple of years, and I don't forsee any spankings soon.

Last week I had to hold my son's hand very tight and didn't let him go for about ten minutes in a store because he was running around annd making a huge nuisance of himself. That's as close as I've gotten to corporal punishment lately - and even that would apparently not be allowed in this school...


Problem with corporal punishment is that so many parents don't realize that doing it often is extremely counterproductive. Kids should be getting a lot more praise/rewards than punishments. Also, it's important to remember that you can hurt a child much more simply by saying "I wish I'd never had you" or "you're a stupid kid" than you ever could by spanking them. Those are the scars that really last. I'll NEVER forget the time my dad called me a "little faggot", but I honestly can't remember if he ever spanked me or not. I know my mom swatted my bottom once or twice.