To Spank or Not to Spank

When is okay to discipline our children by spanking them? I, as a parent think children should be spanked when it's necessary. When I say “Spanked” I don't mean beaten or bruised or left bleeding. I mean a good swat on the butt.

When I was growing up, I was spanked, and I didn't turn out to be some monster child abuser. I learned to respect my parents and do as I was told. Kids these days have little or no respect for adults or their parents, and no one is to blame except the parents or guardians of these children.

When my children were growing up, I recall an incident that happened in a Target store. My oldest daughter, who will be 20 this year, was about 5 years old at the time. We were shopping and she wanted a toy. I told her that we were not getting a toy this particular day. She began screaming and yelling and threw herself onto the floor. I looked around, horrified that my child was throwing such a tantrum. I told her to get up and stop screaming. She began to scream louder. I bent down and picked her up off the floor, turned her around and swatted her butt. I told her, “That is enough. You are not getting a toy, and if you ever do that again, I will come shopping while you are at school.” She looked at me, wiped her eyes and stopped screaming. She still cried though. A few seconds later an older lady walked past us. She was starring at my daughter and looking at me. My embarrassed 5 year old looked at the lady and said, “What are you looking at?” She quickly moved along.

Did I want to spank my child? Of course not, but I felt I had no choice. If I gave in and gave her the toy, she would act this way every time we went shopping. I had to set boundaries. She would not listen to me when I asked her to stop. I did not physically harm her; I just swatted her butt with the palm of my hand.

I didn't always spank my kids. It depended on the situation. Sometimes time out worked well. I don't think my daughter was harmed by getting spankings. I think because I disciplined her the way I did has helped her to become the responsible young lady she is.