This might turn into a bit of a ramble or it might be short. My apologies if I go all over the place.
The main question I want to address with this thread is where the line is drawn between abuse and discipline. Is any hitting abuse or is it okay to paddle or spank your child? I leave certain scenarios out of the equation, such as a kid panicking in a dangerous situation and needing a light smack to get back into reality. What I am talking about is hitting as a means to frighten a child into behaving.
The reason I am asking people's opinions on this is a gauntlet I just ran on facebook. One of my clients -- a big name, but no reason to name it here because I really don't want to piss any more people off -- that has thousands of other freelancers just posted an article about corporal punishment in schools still being legal in 19 states. This next bit seems really odd to me: Out of at least six other people posting, I was the only one who was against it, despite the fact that the article outlined several cases where children needed to be hospitalized. These people got really pissed at me. One even suggested that it was good I don't hit children because I can't see the difference between discipline and abuse. Another said, the Bible says it is okay, so it's okay.
In light of the fact that the debate area is rarely used, if anyone opposes my view and wants to debate it, I would be happy to do so, unless someone better equipped would like to debate the side of no hitting.
The main question I want to address with this thread is where the line is drawn between abuse and discipline. Is any hitting abuse or is it okay to paddle or spank your child? I leave certain scenarios out of the equation, such as a kid panicking in a dangerous situation and needing a light smack to get back into reality. What I am talking about is hitting as a means to frighten a child into behaving.
The reason I am asking people's opinions on this is a gauntlet I just ran on facebook. One of my clients -- a big name, but no reason to name it here because I really don't want to piss any more people off -- that has thousands of other freelancers just posted an article about corporal punishment in schools still being legal in 19 states. This next bit seems really odd to me: Out of at least six other people posting, I was the only one who was against it, despite the fact that the article outlined several cases where children needed to be hospitalized. These people got really pissed at me. One even suggested that it was good I don't hit children because I can't see the difference between discipline and abuse. Another said, the Bible says it is okay, so it's okay.
In light of the fact that the debate area is rarely used, if anyone opposes my view and wants to debate it, I would be happy to do so, unless someone better equipped would like to debate the side of no hitting.
