Sorry, but if my kid is about to do something incredibly stupid and dangerous, I'd rather he had a quick swat than end up with a broken bone or DEATH.

Ohh, is this the thread where other people tell me how to be a better parent and that i need to beat them to make them better adults?

_{/laph, this should be good}

Spanking/swatting is acceptable. Spock screwed an entire generation.

Wimps, my Dad would thrash me to sleep with a broken bottle, if I was LUCKY!

As a non-parent, I heartily endorse whatever method you have to use to keep them quiet in public.

My dad used to smack me with the belt if I misbehaved, but stopped when he realized that the threat of physical pain doesn't bother me very much.

Luckily, I have not needed corporal punishment for my two beastlings, thanks to the rare-but-effective deployment of my Sister Mary Elephant voice which guarantees me 15 minutes of oh-shiat-we-pissed-Dad-off quiet.

Whats great is nowadays, instead of hitting, we have the "dad puts on headphones and mom reads a magazine" method of handling a kid's misbehaving instead.

// Why yes, it was on an airplane.

// They both at the same time had this "why are you bothering US" look when I turned around to politely ask if they wouldn't mind possibly preventing their delightful and wonderful little child from kicking my seat.


/// All of you parents who won't or can't take ownership of your own kids and curtail their unruly behavior will pay for it later. Your kid sucks, and he will ruin your lives later on, only you're too stupid to see it now.

// threadjack into airlines and kids thread.

// slash

Sybarite: As a non-parent, I heartily endorse whatever method you have to use to keep them quiet in public.

This. This over and over until it starts to chafe.

IamKaiserSoze!!!

Spanking/swatting is acceptable. Spock screwed an entire generation.

EXACTLY!!

Even wild animals use pain to control their young and teach them how to survive in life. The human child, left undisciplined, turns quickly into a selfish brat, willing to inflict pain on others if he/she doesn't get his/her way.

Often, in social situations, kids learn the rules real fast through pain. Like at school. Poke fun at the guy with the funny face and chances are he's going to break your nose behind the gym. Play school sports and find out how fast your competition appreciates your snide remarks by getting deliberately knocked on your arse. Take something that's not yours and the owner is likely to punch you in the nose to get it back.

I still remember walking around on a playground when I was about 7, at school and making a comment to a kid about braces he wore. His response was simple: he punched me in the mouth. I LEARNED real fast that kids with braces back then might not appreciate some comments.

I tore stuff up at home and I got yelled at. Being determined, I tore it up again and got smacked. The pain convinced me more than anything else that disobeying my folks was NOT a good idea in most cases.

Below a certain age, like 5, kids don't grasp concepts and their psych's are still forming, going through various stages that Mothers know all too well. Like the 'terrible twos'. They're testing authority. A smack on the arse gets the message across faster than poking them in a corner as a 'time out'.

As a kid, I'd go shopping with my Mom and it wasn't unusual to find other mothers in the store with their kids and at least one would be fussing and being a little pain. The Mom, after telling the kid umpteen times to knock it off, would grab the kid and swat him hard. When he started screaming in outrage, she's tell him to knock it off or she'd give him something to really cry about.

Other adults in the store did not find this offensive. Most would have gladly held the kid so the Mom could wind up for a good swat.

My folks rarely hit me, but when they did, I deserved it.

In school there would always be that ONE guy who had to annoy the krap out of me day after day until I smacked him across the head. Some would annoy others until they fought, and the act of standing up to the challenge, win or loose, got the picked on respect. Don't respond and the bullying would continue.

Unlike today, though, mutual school combat was a one on one thing and when one got knocked down, you didn't stomp or kick him. Nor did your friends get involved. That was considered bad form and cowardice. Absolutely NO WEAPONS.

Parents used to mainly slap the hands of little kids, like when they insisted on grabbing at something that could harm them or insisted on trying to play with the knobs on a gas stove.

It wasn't funny if a kid picked up the pet cat by the neck and parents were quick to step in and put a stop to that. Nor was it 'cute' when little Timmy flushed toys or keys down the toilet -- requiring the parents to have expensive repairs done. Kids learned real fast not to mess with colorful bugs outside, because they got stung. It wasn't cute either when a kid picked up any bug he found and ate it.

In Florida, most bugs are harmless, but there are some, even if they don't bite, that if eaten can make a kid real sick.

I knew only a few kids who were actually beaten by their parents, and not spanked. We called their folks 'white trash', which is what they usually were. The kids, naturally, became aggressive later on in life.

One of my nieces didn't get spanked much and was allowed to grow up under what I consider too lax conditions. Today, she's in college. She's already got her own shrink. She lacks in empathy for others in what I consider key areas. She's bright and pretty and smart and wants to go into psychiatry -- but in psychiatry you MUST have empathy. You must also be pretty well grounded or the patients delusions can actually affect you. Her Mom and Dad busted their arses for her so she's not exactly ever experienced serious want.

She has problems relating past her needs to the needs of others and I consider that serious.

She was mostly raised in the NO SPANK generation. She came home from 4th grade, HORRIFIED that a teacher had GRABBED a disruptive kid by the arm and FORCED him to sit down. In her opinion, there was no reason for a teacher to touch a kid, even a pain in the arse one.

I've been watching her progress with interest.

My other niece grew up in the spanking generation. She has empathy and knows her limits. She married a guy I consider a clod, but she's happy.

All of my siblings grew up in a household that spanked. All of my siblings are successful. All are married.

Generation_D: They both at the same time had this "why are you bothering US" look when I turned around to politely ask if they wouldn't mind possibly preventing their delightful and wonderful little child from kicking my seat.

What is the big deal about a kid kicking your seat? You barely notice it. Probably notice turbulence more than that.

If you circumcise your sons and daughters, there's no need for spanking.

Nothing says "You WILL obey me" quite like cutting off part of their genitalia.

There's a difference between a quick swat to keep a kid out of danger, and a full on smack in the face because you as a parent got ticked off.

If you can't handle a child making you mad without violence, then you have no business raising one.

Angry Drunk Bureaucrat: Ennuipoet: Wimps, my Dad would thrash me to sleep with a broken bottle, if I was LUCKY!

Luxury. My dad would slice us in two with a bread knife.

Well, that's what you get for just loafing around!!!

I'm sorry. I know that pun was crumby... :-/

Unless you're Black.

It seems that Black people are allowed to beat their kids and it has an almost comedic quality to it.

pwhp_67: That's why I put my son's foreskin on a necklace...

Respect.

In all seriousness, I think it's healthy for parents to hit their children.

We need to start teaching them, at an early age, that violence on the part of authority figures is to be expected for infractions or deviations from normal behavior.

If we don't, they're not going to understand why cops hit them or spray them for not exhibiting immediate compliance for seemingly pointless requests. They may even begin to actively oppose violence by authority figures.

We need to maintain the cycle of using violence to assert control and dictate behavior, and it all starts at home, with mom and dad.

Dirtybird971: Yeah, and how are these people turning out? Selfish, arrogant, self-entitled assholes.

Leave the baby boomers alone. They were all spanked as kids, and they've done a wonderful job turning this nation into the paradise we see today. Sound infrastructure, responsible investing with an eye toward long-term stability, and a blossoming job market are all due to them and their behavior.

Behavior that is all due to the fact that they were spanked as kids.