ANSWERS: 33
  • A friend of a friend had an experience recently...a mum was dropping her child of at childcare...she ran across the car park and was chucking tantrums...the mum gave her a smack to the bottom...someone must have seen and reported to the daycare workers. So mums gone to work...the police arrive at her work to question her about the incedent...she ended up with a fine. This mum is not a hard core smacker by any means...It's hard for authorities to work out whats a 'good for you smack'...or just plain abusive...so I guess they've gotta err on the safe side to protect children from the abusive ones...
  • There is a big difference in abuse and discipline. Spanking does not hurt a child and more parents need to do it. I can tell you from working for a short time with juveniles that the kids who are not spanked do grow up to be troubled out of control young adults. Then end up in prison for rape, robbery, murder. Assault is outrageous. Do you wait until a child is 15 and carries a gun to school to discipline. Little too late then. Parents are already scared of their kids. We need to get back to spanking everywhere and let parent's go back to being parents.
  • No, every spanking is not an assault. I believe government is way too much into our private lives and the rearing of our children already. I never hit my children and don't think you should hit children. That's my personal feeling. Do I think parents who spank are automatically committing a battery on their child, no. There are two questions here; the moral one and the legal one.
  • It depends the reason and how hard the child gets spanked I believe.
  • Hmmm... No *laughs* I was spanked and I turned out fine. My mom was spanked and she turned out fine too.
  • Parents who beat their kids should be charged with assault. As far as I'm concerned some of them should even be sterilised. However a spank or two, enough to sting only, is far kinder than not speaking, or grounding, or removing privileges. A parent should never, ever, withdraw their love as a punishment. All human beings go for instant gratification. How we act on impulse depends entirely on whether that impulse is to do good or bad, but it is always, always to make life more fun, nicer for ourselves, right in this instant. If a child can't reason beyond their immediate desires (say, for a toy that doesn't belong to them) then to teach them self restraint and give them any kind of future, you HAVE to make self-control the best option to their subconscious. Far better to do that, if possible, with a split second sting on the leg, than with hours of resentment and drawn out punishment like sending them to bed with no supper.
  • Spare the rod and spoil the child.
  • Oh, hell no. As much as we tried not to spank our kids, we ended up doing so, if for nothing else, than to get their attention. We never used anything but our bare hands on their diapered or pantsed (wearing them) butts, and only one or two swats. I also used the threat of smacking them when I caught them in a lie, by swinging as if I were going to, stopping short, and "patting" their cheeks with my fingers. It stopped them from lying, I'll tell you. Then knew what a spanking felt like, and knew if I smacked them (bare cheek) it would HURT. I think part of the problem with the world today is all those who say spanking is abuse. Parents are afraid of spanking their kids for being "charged with assault". Please note: I do NOT advocate beatings. (ONE or TWO swats ONLY, BARE HANDED - so YOU feel the pain, too.) I do NOT advocate using ANY utensil. (YOU cannot tell when you're doing it too hard or too soft. Your hand should sting a LITTLE.) I do NOT advocate spanking hard enough to leave welts or "until they can't sit down". (The trick there is that they know what a spanking feels like, and knows how bad it would be if they "couldn't sit down". The threat is enough.) If more punishment is to occur, then it should be "grounding" or "time out". Time Outs for kids until about 5 should be no more than 5 minutes - where they cannot see the TV, they cannot play with any toys, they can SEE the family, but cannot talk to them. Over 5 or so then send them to their rooms (NO TV, NO games, NO music, NO phone, etc.... They are to THINK about what they did wrong.) Spanking should only be done until the kid is 10-12 (puberty starting), and then grounding only.
  • They should not be charged with assault unless they leave marks on a child. I dont believe in spanking and I sure hope I never see one being spanked because I get really upset at the parents. Just thinking about it gets me upset. I think it comes from the past.
  • Should parents who do not discipline their kids be charged with neglect and fined/sued/jailed when their kid commits vandalism, assault on another child, or any crime? Yes! When parents start being held responsible for everything their kids do, from birth to age twenty-one, you may see some return to responsible parenting. You won't any other way. That has already become self-evident.
  • short and simple answer is NO!!, in fact its about time the dogooders of this world shut up and realized that because of their goodie two shoes actions in the last 20 or so years we have at least 2 generations of kids who have run amok without any fear of getting in the shit because of their own actions. Don't believe me ... well look at how many times they blame someone else or something else and low and behold they get away with it in court and in society. Maybe if these dogooders spent as much time as they do yelling out "Abuse" and get their heads out of their bloody textbooks and fairytale world they live in the kids of today wouldn't be the worst in the last 30 years ... yes even their great guru Dr Spock say's now he got it wrong
  • No. I had a spanking or two with no permanent damage done. I don`t agree with spanking, however. I think all that it does is scare a child and that is a terrible method of discipline that teaches nothing. I can`t judge or blame a parent who gives a child, who is having an out of control tantrum, a swat on the bottom. We all have our moments and I can`t say I would react any differently. The force and frequency of spanking also has to be considered - there is a point where it crosses the line into assault.
  • I believe that a smack on the bottom with an open hand is not assault. Parents hitting with implements, belts etc. should definitely be charged.
  • No, but the people who accuse and charge them with assault or the like should be.
  • NO, people have children not to be kind and loving to them, but to make them sad and ruin their lives, children should not have rights, they are only little things that have no feelings they also dont feel pain, children are just items that belong to you, and u can do what ever you want with them. this is the example of not what to be like, everything I have put up there is false, even one of the words are false there is U that replaced YOU the same way i feel when I see kids get abused, I wish they could replace their parents, but thanks to butiox here my wish is not gonna come true is it?? Well the answer here is YES they should be. Toph Bei Fong
  • No, I don’t think they should, but then I feel there is a world of difference between a spank & a beating, not a distinction everyone makes. The problem with children is that they are not, as some say, little adults. They simply do not posses the cognitive function to reason as adults, or to understand abstract concepts such as right & wrong (up to a certain age). & if its a question of them doing something that could injure themselves, or you applying the odd spank here or there as a deterrent, then I go with the spank. I do not in any way condone an adult wildly spanking their child repeatedly out of anger & have intervened when seen this done.
  • No. If you don't teach your children discipline at a young age they will grow up expecting to get away with everything. I'm not talking about hurting them though..
  • That depends on how old their kid is. If they're ten or older then there might be a case. There is no excuse for abuse, especially child and pet abuse. As an abused child myself I know it really affected how I thought of myself and how I interacted with others. You don't have to physically strike your children to keep them from becoming a menace to society. There are plenty of punishments and alternatives that you can get really creative with that will do the job just as well. I don't deny that there probably are children that could use it, but they're generally younger children as far as spankings are concerned.
  • Absolutely not, every kid needs a spanking every once in a while. As long as your not BEATING your child you should be left alone. +3
  • I'd be in trouble and so would my parents.
  • No, because they are completely 2 different things. Spanking is a slight slap on the behind once in awhile. Assault involves a lot more and deeper stuff .
  • I don't think so it's our own kids, we teach them what's good and bad, it's very common in every families, when somebody else will then only be charged with assault.
  • Honestly, I think it should be against the law to hit your children. It's against the law to hit your spouse but not your kids?? Kids are people too in case no one has noticed. Is it ok because they are small? Then in that case it should be legal to hit midgets right? Midget abuse? The abuse of little people has to stop.
  • of course there are some limitations to how much they may spank their kids.. If they beat the hell outta that poor kid till the neighbors could hear them scream,the neighbors may call the police... If the kid show up the next day with bruises all over,anyone who know them should keep the kids in their houses and call the authorities to interrogate the parents.. But the parents would likely say " That is my kid.. It's not your business how i treat him.."
  • this is something that needs to be handled case by case ppl who hit out of anger or frustration, most likely yes ppl who use it as a punishment, probably not ex. go up stairs and think about what you did, and I'll be up soon to give you your spanking (punsihment) this is different than someone who hits as a reaction or to control I think if done properly it teaches respect, boundries, and consequences
  • It depends. If what the parent is doing would be considered assault if they did it to an adult.... then yes, the parent should be charged with assault. I don't understand why slapping a stranger is assault, but slapping a small child who cannot defend themselves is fine. I know I'll get downrated for this, but in my opinion, if you have to use violence with your children, you are NOT a good parent, as you obviously lack communication skills. Also, you're teaching your child to solve their problems with violence. Nice going.
  • Most definitely NOT . those parents who let the world do there parenting , end up raising kids who do not respect society. Let other parents TEACH (Yes Teach)(Discpline if yu like) their kids or those kids will be robbing,assaulting yu in future. Or destroying your house or property. obviousely there is a line with this discpline thing. What is discpline?????????????????????????? Answer is next post
  • Discpline is the willing obedience to orders given by those(Parent) authorized to do so. Think about it repeat it saying fast. The willing obey to Orders.
  • Naw. A fine of about 'tree-fiddy' oughtta cover it, keithold! ;-)
  • My first thought when I read the question was yes, and then, I thought about it for a minute.... I thought about my Mom. She spanked me when I was little, and that broke my heart. But I love her very much and if someone put her in prison for this, and took her away from me, that would have broken my heart just as much. I honestly don't know the answer to this question. I only gave this reply because it is what I thought about when I read it.

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