To spank or not to spank?

[downbeatplumb]

You think small children pose no physical threat. My wife was beaten and kicked by our eldest for a while. When he was in "one of those moods" he would lash out uncontrollably generally starting with things then moving onto people, he has a brother two years his junior who due to proximity bore the brunt of it. I'm making him sound like a monster. Honestly he's fine now but for a (short) while we feared for his brothers safety and my wifes sanity. He was about three I think.

You're not making him sound like a monster. You're making him sound like someone who doesn't understand the natural consequences of his actions. Which I would say is perfectly normal for a 3 year old. But I am not against giving a 3 year old a bit of mandatory alone time when it's best for his safety and the safety of those around him. I think, however, that spanking him would only serve to further confuse him about whether or not violence is an acceptable response to anger.

Hence us shoving him in the garden on the basis that there were fewer expensive things he could smash out there. Shutting him in his bedroom resulted in complete destruction of all his stuff. Naughty step, would that work on a tasmanian? I think not and thats what you have to equate him too at that point. There was no reasoning there was just rage.