Dec 03 2008
We Don’t Hit…Ever
Do NOT hit!
That’s what we teach our children. We also set the example.
I do not believe that there is any good lesson in spanking my children. The only thing it teaches is that bigger people can physically harm smaller ones, and for what reason?
The old “I was spanked when I was a kid, and I turned out okay” rhetoric gets to me every-time. I used to walk across the room to turn on the TV, change the channel, and adjust the volume. Technology has made it easier, I don’t do those things anymore. I use a remote.
Pediatricians and Psychologists now warn against striking our children due to the harmful repercussions it can cause, but as a society, we are slow to believe and trust in this technology and it disturbs me as to why.
No where in our adult lives is it okay to strike another. When we are upset with a co-worker’s performance, or a neighbor’s meddling, we don’t hit them, and we would definitely suffer consequences if we did. So why would we spank children?
If they are misbehaving, showing a lack of self control, aren’t we showing a similar lack of self control by striking them? If we really waited for the situation to deescalate, calmed ourselves and our child down, would we really still feel like a spanking was what they needed?
I understand that for some it is a religious belief, and I’m not trying to tell anyone how to raise their children. Just think about what the real lesson is, and what you want your child to learn from it.
In 20 years, we can get our families together and see how my unspanked children compare to those that are physically punished. I have every confidence in myself as a parent, that my children will succeed in anything they put their mind to, they will be self confident, and they will never even dream of striking their children. It will NOT be how they were raised.
PS: Thank you so much to The Mom Buzz for promoting my previous post here
http://www.ohanamamablog.com/2008/11/ohana-mamas-monday-mom-buzz.html
You Rock!
The threat of injury, as in the running into the street scenario, comes up often in these negotiations. My stance is that I do not ever want my child to be physically harmed, therefore I would not physically harm him/her myself to prevent further harm. It just doesn’t make sense to me.
We can agree to disagree. Most of my friends “spank” their children, they know my thoughts on the subject and we are still friends. Most of us were brought up with “spanking” and therefore believe it is the correct thing to do. I’m merely stating that I do not think it is the right thing to do, and I will not physically hurt my children nor will I let anyone else.
Everyone is allowed to raise their children as they see fit.
In the end, the only people who will really know if it was harmful or not is our children, and I’m not willing to take that risk.