Anti-Smacking bill.

I understand where you are coming from Bloodraine, but I still know what I feel is right and wrong when it comes to raising a child. I'm not saying that I could emotionally handle a child right now, but when I grow up, I feel I know what I'll be doing.

Well, first, I'm going to define child abuse as I see it: When the punishment does not fit whatever the child has done wrong. Because if you ask me (no one did, though), if one doesn't punish his kid accordingly, that's going to cause harm. If say, it's dinnertime and you say "Bob, you can't have a cookie until you finish your carrots." But Bob goes ahead and scarfs down like 3 cookies and doesn't even glance at his carrots, what would you do?

Well, being a kid and all, I'd say I'd learn my lesson if my mom or dad smacked me lightly upside the head or on the wrist. Not so it hurts like fuck, but so it stings and is sufficiently unpleasant. This way, Bob learns that eating three cookies instead of carrots ain't such a bright idea.

Suppose instead of a light smack, Mommy brings out the baseball bat and practices on Bob's head. That would obviously be abuse. Even if she spanked him or left a bruise or slapped him really hard, it's still abuse. Because none of those punishments fit the crime.

Now we have our third scenario: Instead of saying anything, Mom and Dad let Bob polish off the whole damn cookie jar. Or less extreme, they let him get away with eating his three cookies and not touching his veggies. I'd say that's abuse. Because Bob will begin to think that carrots are for losers (personally, I love carrots) and that cookies are the way to go. He will routinely ignore healthy foods and go for sugar. He will end up malnourished, fat, and won't do so well in school because his parents didn't teach him the basic lesson of eating vegetables.

That's a long definition.

Anyway, yeah. An anti-smacking law, I feel, would only apply to cases such as the babseball bat and spanking. I was never spanked, but I was hit. Not so it left a bruise though. Just sufficiently unpleasant. I learned my lessons. And after my brother and I reached certain ages, my parents stopped.

And anti-smacking law would end up with some parents coddling their children too much so the kids end up like Fat Stupid Bob. But then again, it's always best to try and get the message in verbally, by making the kid understand and respect what is right and wrong.

I hate the idea of smacking.

my dad did it to me and I believe that it's one of the many reasons why I now hate him.

it didn't do me any good.

I could never imagine smacking my child, how could you hurt someone you love?

what is it teaching the kid? that violence is a solution?

meh, I hate it.

My parents never smack me because when I was about 3 I got asthma and they were afraid they might hurt me. But yeah I grew up okay. Maybe not as hardcore and thought as many of you, but I'm a good kid and I don't do stupid things. I can say the same about my brother although they used to spank him sometimes. My cousin on the other side, he's just the ultimate bad kid. He ran away from home at least 4 times, he steals from his parents, does all sorts of bad stuff. And his parents used to hit him really bad, actually they still do.

But I know other people who used to hit their kids a lot. And I know some of those kids. And it's just so sad because some of them are now so afraid of their parents, afraid of lots of things. Smacking doesn't leave only physical bruises.

I would never hit my kid, and you know why ? Not because I think that parents shouldn't hurt their kids, just because I think kids aren't that stupid. I honestly think that my children will be smart enough to get it if something's wrong, so I won't have to hit them the same way I also foolishly believe that I will be smart enough to show them if something is wrong without having to hit them.

In all honest I think some parent's smack their children know that it would do some good - I know it did for myself and my older sister; even the threat of getting smacked would make us behave. However some parents, like my cousin have never raised a hand to either of her children; if they have a fit in the middle of the supermarket for not getting what they want, she'll ignore them and continue with what she is doing. They wind up calming down because mummy isn't paying any attnetion to them at all, even though stranger's are just glaring at her for not doing anything about her screaming child. They are growing up to be pretty good kids.

My parents never spanked me; although my dad has threatened me with it a few times when my mom wasn't around. I don't believe spanking is absolutely essential to being a decent person, although it certainly plays a large part. There are few things more annoying than having, say, a screaming kid in a supermarket with a mom that quietly asks him, "Jimmy, are you doing the right thing?" and doesn't even tell him, 'no.'
Personally, I think they should rewrite the law to specifically outlaw some kinds of physical discipline--like, it's okay as long as you don't leave brusies. If people keep coddling kids, the generation after us is going to be unable to even play sports because they were never taught to put up with tough discipline.

Spanking and smacks on the hand are one thing. Getting back - handed in the face is another.

penguin massacre:

Would taking away the right really stop anyone?

No, but now if a parent gets caught even spanking their own kid, they'll be removed from the child's life and the child would be given to a responsible family member or set up for a foster home.

How fair is that? Honestly. What the fuck?

My uncle hit my little cousin for mouthing off (she's a handful and he finally lost it). She threatened to call the cop and he called the cops on himself, he didn't care. The cops came over and said judging by her attitude she deserved.

You're allowed to hit your child, but there's a proper way to do it. It can't physically damage the child. At least that's what it's like here.

All Things Pink.:

My mum did it to me. I still haven't forgiven her.

What? Beat you up?

Dirty.LittleRockstar:

My uncle hit my little cousin for mouthing off (she's a handful and he finally lost it). She threatened to call the cop and he called the cops on himself, he didn't care. The cops came over and said judging by her attitude she deserved.

You're allowed to hit your child, but there's a proper way to do it. It can't physically damage the child. At least that's what it's like here.

If my kid was threatening to call the cops on me they could walk to go find another home. Your uncle has a lot of patience.

Some kids really deserve a smack, not one that leads to bruising but one that puts them in the mind set that 'yes, you don't run this house' and that they aren't boss of their parents. They don't pay rent, they don't pay for their clothes, they barely clean up for themselves. Where do kids get off thinking they can just run their mouths at someone like their parents? I would have been left to fend for myself if I ever pulled that on my parents.

^
My uncle actually has a really bad temper. He actually terrifies me when he's mad. But I have the same temper.
That's the mindset my cousin has that she runs the house. At least at the time she did. But my aunt let her get away with it...

I hate to think of the idea of violence on children being legal.

It just doesn't seem right.

I remember being spanked. It did nothing good at all. Kids imitate what they see their parents do. And when their parents hit them, its either:

A] I'm afraid I'll get spanked, so I shouldn't do "insert action here."
or
B]They hit back, grow up to do the same thing, etc...

My point is that violence is not the answer.