Kids need the discipline or else they end up whining liberals.

Sometimes you have to get your kids' attention...yet to me, spanking (physically or emotionally or psychologically) is all the same. We need to find ways to engender peace through better ways to pay attention to and listen to each other...It is amazing how respect works in bith directions...

There's a difference between a spanking and abuse, but... I do agree with Mitch.

Oh this is one of those topics that really gets me. I am so tired of seeing parents (at least I assume and PRAY they are parents) in public places whacking away at their kids. A recent example really stands out: I was heading to my car in the parking lot at Kohl's in Milford, and there was a 30-something, neatly dressed man, 6 feet or so tall. He was presumably the father of the 3 or 4-year-old girl (that is, say, 2-1/2 feet tall or so?) who was putting on a loud show of being unhappy. And this guy whacks her a few times. It did NOT stop the crying--surprise! But the visuals were upsetting to say the least. I mean think about it--can it ever REALLY be necessary, fair, or a good example, for an adult (a big ole hulking American mother or father) to hit a little kid?? Having said this, I do realize that a good parent WILL whack a kid--for example, a little kid who runs into the street--in order to prevent the kid from repeating a dangerous act. I'm not sure it's the best way to train a child (or anybody else), but it seems to be instinctual, it's been happening since the beginning of time, and until PARENTS can be re-trained, it's probably going to continue.

Let's all just talk to the kids. Tell them that you respect their desire to be their own person, and they can do anything they want in life.

In 15 years, they'll be living in a tent in Boston, attempting to get the government to wipe out the financial obligations brought on by their poor life choices. Hmmm...maybe those people's parents didn't teach them about consequences......

There is a difference between spanking and beating. Spanking to teach a kid something was wrong that could put them in harms way is not an issue. To hit a kid out of frustration is wrong. I think some of the adults I see and the way they behave should have been belted a few times.

Of course beating is wrong....however there is nothing wrong with a swift firm spank if it is deserved. I also would like to agree with Mitch, however I am afraid that ideal is not suited to the world around us.

Spanking is a form of abuse no matter what way you look at it or try to justify the action. Is it effective? Most likely, yes; but what it comes down to is enforcing a rule or establishing operative conditioning through the reaction of physical harm. Now, I'm not saying that it's as bad or worse than beating, because it isn't; but you're deluding yourself if you think inflicting any type of pain on a child isn't a form of abuse. And don't even get me started on the parents who spank there child in public for everyone to see...

When you spank a child you're telling them it's okay to hit others. Example: A child at the playground takes a toy from your child. (who has been spanked) In your child's young mind the other child did something wrong so he/she thinks it's okay to hit the other child.
I was spanked as a child and vowed never to hit my children. I have a son 22 years old and a daughter 5 years old and never felt the need to spank them. If you get down to there level and speak to them and make them feel important and let them feel like there in control there should be no need to spank. It's so much easier an quicker to spank then to take a minuet or two and explain things to your child in a way that they can understand.
This is just opinion and works for my wife and I.

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I do not agree with spanking under any circumstance. Hitting only teaches your child to be fearful of you instead of helping them learn what they did wrong. Discipline is important but we need to do it in a calm way with empathy. That teaches your child that you are listening to them. Every child is going to test the limits and will be upset about things throughout life. If you provide clear rules and natural consequences you will have a better chance of raising a child who will open up to you instead of one who lies and engages in risky behaviors.

I've tried both ways. Spanking and talking. Spanking seemed to work best. They were more afraid of the spanking then the "talk". They behaved better if they thought a spanking was coming. I also have a look that I give before any spanking will occur. If they continue to misbehave after the look....then it's a spankin they get. Nothing brutal or anything and never in public but they know I'm not playin.

It is easier to spank than to consistently follow through with other methods of discipline, which do work if used consistently and calmly. There is a difference between fear & respect and parents confuse them. I'm a parent of two toddlers and was spanked as a child. I do not ever want to spank my children and believe there are other ways to get their attention (ie physical hold) that does not necessitate spanking and does not result in a child fearing (vs respecting) the parent. Toddlers especially can be infuriating and it takes a great deal of patience to teach them to be well-behaved little people. Discipline means to guide, not to physically punish.

I agree with a few of the above posts. There is a major difference between respect and fear. Corporal punishment has many different meanings and varies with cultures and age. Is "spanking" a light swat on the bum or an organized project such as picking your switch, bend over and take 10 hard smacks? I do believe in the safety spank. Not enough to really hurt but enough to shock. I would rather my child have a sore bottom and recall the swat the next time they contemplate darting into the street then to actually be hit my a car.
Bottom line is what are you teaching your child? Making a child say " I'm sorry" without helping them understand what they did and how they hurt another is empty words. A 3 yr old saying "sorry" for hitting billy teaches nothing. Getting billy an ice pack and sitting with him helps nurture empathy. Does spanking end the behavior permentantly and not out of fear but out of the child's understanding of the situation? If parents find themselves repeatedly spanking for the same behavior they aren't helping their children learn important problem solving skills. Spanking because you are a frustrated parent is never ok. This is all just my opinion and 2 cents.

okay bloggers-what would you do to those nasty,nasty students of the bus who tormented the elderly bus monitor ??

Yes the kids often learn the behavior from their parents so aren't they learning that hitting is ok? Does spankin work? Yes, it stops them dead in their tracks but that's because the fear getting a spanking. What happens when there is no one around to spank them? I don't think talking to them like a pampered baby is needed but help the kids learn morals. We don't throw rocks at someone's window not because we are afraid of getting spanked but because it's wrong! That homeowner has bills and now has to pay for a broken window. Help them learn empathy then ground them and make them do chores/ community work to earn money and buy a new window. Also, I know many adults that were spanked for everything and when asked how long they were spanked 99% of the time the answer is " until I got to big and could hit back

In light of the Judge Adams video,

We often hear from those who fight to uphold this practice for those under the age of 18 (even to the blaming of the social maladies of the day on a supposed "lack" of it), but we rarely, if ever, find advocates for the return of corporal punishment to the general adult community, college campuses, inmate population, or military. Why is that?

Ask ten unyielding proponents of child/adolescent/teenage-only "spanking" about the "right" way to do it, and what would be abusive, indecent, or obscene, and you will get ten different answers.

These proponents should consider making their own video-recording of the "right way" to do it.

Children should have a right to their bodies, and the right to say "No!"

Currently in the U.S.:

When an adult does it to another adult, its sexual battery:
http://hamptonroads.com/2011/12/va-beach-restaurateur-pleads-guilty-sexual-battery

When children do it to adults, its a "deviant sexual prank":
http://www.theday.com/article/20101207/NWS04/101209750

When an adult does it to a person under the age of 18, its "good discipline".

Research/recommended reading:

Spanking Can Make Children More Aggressive Later
http://tulane.edu/news/releases/pr_03122010.cfm

Spanking Kids Increases Risk of Sexual Problems
http://www.unh.edu/news/cj_nr/2008/feb/lw28spanking.cfm

Use of Spanking for 3-Year-Old Children and Associated Intimate Partner Aggression or Violence
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/126/3/415

Spanking Children Can Lower IQ
http://www.unh.edu/news/cj_nr/2009/sept/lw25straus.cfm

Plain Talk About Spanking
by Jordan Riak
http://www.nospank.net/pt2010.pdf

The Sexual Dangers of Spanking Children
by Tom Johnson
http://nospank.net/sdsc2.pdf

"Spanking" can be intentional or unintentional sexual abuse
http://www.nospank.net/101.htm

If spanking is used it should stop at around the age of 10 with 11 being borderline. Twelve is too old and certainly, once a child reaches the age of 13 they should not be spanked under any circumstances.

The reasons and responses given by advocates of child/adolescent/teenage-only corporal punishment are nearly always the same:

1) "The Bible says...."

2) Research/statements from the religious fundamentalist sector (as opposed to those who believe Jesus would never condone hitting a child).

3) They're not doing it "right". I still haven't found any general consensus on a "right" method for "spanking" kids.

4) "I was 'spanked' (or bullied in school, or raised by the state, drank the green water,etc) and I turned out OK."

5) If you don't "spank" children, they'll end up in prison/hell/with terrible manners (hitting being confused with discipline).

"If we really want a peaceful and compassionate world, we need to build communities of trust where all children are respected, where home and school are safe places to be and where discipline is taught by example."
Desmond M. Tutu, Archbishop Emeritus, Nobel Peace Prize recipient, Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children, 2006. See www.nospank.net/globalreport.pdf

"The much-touted 'biblical argument' in support of corporal punishment is founded upon proof-texting a few isolated passages from Proverbs. Using the same method of selective scripture reading, one could also cite the Bible as an authority for the practice of slavery, adultery, polygamy, incest, suppression of women, executing people who eat pork, and infanticide. The brutal and vindictive practice of corporal punishment cannot be reconciled with the major New Testament themes that teach love and forgiveness and a respect for the sacredness and dignity of children, and which overwhelmingly reject violence and retribution as a means of solving human problems. Would Jesus ever hit a child? NEVER!"
The Rev. Thomas E. Sagendorf, United Methodist Clergy (Retired), Hamilton, Indiana. Personal communication, 2006.

Never have hit my kids and they are fine. I get compliments all the time on their behavior. Discipline does not have to be spanking.

And this has become the easily-predicted "I'm better than you because I ______, maybe you should ______" internet posting board battle.

Kudos on keeping it going since Saturday.

I've found that waving one of those dangerous sparklers in my children's faces gets the message across better than spanking.

"Better fly right or you'll get the sparkler!"

I personally think most of you should be spanked. Take a look at the rude disrespectful teen/20 somethings out there right now. The generation of not being spanked.

Everyone is so up in arms about how we should not impose corporal punishment (spanking-not beating) for bad or dangerous behavior in our children. If we loose the right to fix the inappropriate and disrespectful behavior during childhood we set them up to face corporal punishment as adults and put into our already overcrowded jails for long periods of time. Which is better? I feel we should have the right to direct our children and guide them to making wise decisions and knowing that if they do not, there are varying levels of consequences for poor decisions. This will prepare them for proper behavior in our society as adults, where there are varying levels of consequences for poor decisions.

There is a difference between spanking and abuse. Some parents that I know have carefully and rationally considered what tools they will use to try to raise children that will grow into adults who are respectful and contributing members of society. These parents follow some common-sense guidelines, and I have a great deal of respect for the way they are raising their children. They never strike their child in anger or frustration. They do not use implements, or spank hard enough to leave marks or bruises. Calm discussion about the offense in private precedes the spanking. It is administered ONLY for a serious offense, and one which the child already knows will result in this consequence. The children understand why they are being spanked, and at the same time understand that they are loved. Once the spanking is done, so is the discussion about the bad behavior - in other words, the parents don't go on berating the child for the misbehavior. Done in this manner, I can see that spanking can be an effective tool.

Yes, but think about it, it's still a really BIG person hitting a child. A CHILD! I think for most parents it's natural, I don't think it's "bad" that most parents do it to protect their children, but really, adults can do better!

These people were "spanked" as children by adults, and they "turned out just fine":

Man Terrorized After Stopping A Dad From Spanking His Son
http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2012/06/25/man-terrorized-after-stopping-a-dad-from-spanking-his-son/

Woman who prompted SEPTA bus shooting pleads guilty
http://articles.philly.com/2012-06-06/news/32079797_1_bus-passenger-guilty-plea-preliminary-hearing

Terrifying footage shows bus gun attack 'after man dared to complain about mother spanking her child'
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2022668/Terrifying-footage-shows-bus-gun-attack-man-dared-complain-mother-spanking-child.html

Parents acting out
http://abcnews.go.com/2020/video/parents-mom-dad-kids-anger-management-attack-celebrity-losing-2020-16632646