Religion and Spanking

[Drich]

Spanking is a Godly discipline. Not a requirement. Meaning it is a tool one can use to correct the behavior of a child. But like any tool can be abused or completely useless or even misunderstood by those not smart enough to use the tool correctly. However in the right hand spanking can be the hammer and chisel that created Michelangelo's David, or like in the case of ISIS it could be the same hammer and chisel used to destroy the ancient works of art, and cities created by master craftsmen.

It all depends on how and when (along with the capacity and mental discipline of the child.) as well.

In otherwords if you child can be reasoned with, then reason with him.. however if he can not take those tools and shape him with it.

I wasn't spanked.. I was beaten. there is a difference. To beat a child is to physically strike out of anger or frustration. This is what most liberal strawmen are made of (This is the line most anti spanking douche bags try to blur) a Spanking has point and purpose, and the child is walked through the disciplinary process so he know what and why this is happening. Beatings are like bolts of lightening in that you may see the storm clouds coming but you never know if and or when it will strike.

[account_inactive]

Anyone who knows me on here knows I was raised in an atheist household. I've been spanked a few times as a young kid, while it didn't do me any harm there is potential for it to affect another person in a different way.

There's probably far more effective discipline methods than hitting them though.

[PETE_ROSE]

I was spanked. I don't feel that it did irreparable damage to my psyche. I also am not sure that it had the desired effect. When I reflect upon my youth the talks my parents had with me had far more lasting results than the spankings. I did not want to disappoint them and knowing they were upset or disappointed in my actions weighed on me much more than physical pain.

I have 6 children. Only two have ever been spanked by me. I've been fortunate enough to to have been able to achieve discipline and positive results through discussions and reasoning with them. In reflection, most of the time I resorted to spanking I feel that it was my lack of patience and a bit of frustration that took me there.

[PETE_ROSE]

Not to equate spanking with torture, but anyone that has experience with that knows that people will admit and submit to anything if enough pain is inflicted upon them. The threat of it does not appear to be an effective deterrent either. I vividly remember weighing my options as a youth and deciding that catching a beating would be worth what I was about to do. I just made sure to get my money's worth was all.

[The Grand Nudger]

Sounds like it did work on you Pete.  You paused long enough to do the calculus, and made sure you got your moneys worth.  That, to me..is parenting success right there.  That's all I hope for and want them to take away from -any- discipline I use.  Think about it, know the consequences, and if you still want to do it, well...fucking have at it.    

It's -always- my lack of patience and frustration behind spankings.  I have zero patience for the shit I spank them for, and I'm entirely frustrated with my inability to talk them out of those things.  Sticking shit in sockets, hurling projectiles at their siblings, playing on a state road, straddling barbed wire, stuffing kittens in the dryer......  Some of those things get a three count, most get a no count.  OFC it's always done in anger, and I'd question the fitness of a parent that spanks their child with a smile on their face and a song in their heart.

[FatAndFaithless]

There was a very recent study of something like 150k children that indicated spanking is both ineffective at best and psychologically damaging at worst. I'll try to find it. The risk that these types of threads always run is the canned response of "well it happened to me and I turned out fine," which is surprisingly what a lot of people said when this study came out. I remember it on the science subreddit, and like a quarter of all the comments were something to that effect. But then again, why go on a science subreddit and ignore the results of a study?

Personally, I was spanked once, halfheartedly, because my father saw how terrified I was leading up to it. It didn't change anything in me except that short spike of fear, and he realized that. From then on we talked through our problems...or he just took my gameboy away, which worked.

EDIT: Found the study. Here's a link to an article about it, and then to the study itself.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles...olumn.html

http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/fam/30/4/453

And the sample size was bigger than I recalled - it's 160,927


And as for the 'is it Godly' part... my aching ass it is.

[The Grand Nudger]

I think that study touches on something that at least a few of the spanking parents in this thread have mentioned.  We're not trying to effect "good behavior".  That it doesn't create good behavior is no surprise to me, personally...and I already know it turns them into rebellious little hardasses.  Particularly for the next few minutes after they're spanked.  They hate me, they hate all my rules, and they go find some other bad thing to do.  I'm okay with that, I'd rather them throw a little temper tantrum than get hit by a dumptruck.

[Lek]

Spanking is far less common today than it was a few decades ago and the kids in school are far worse behaved.  I don't know if this comes from fewer spankings or just less disciplining at home overall.  I think spanking can be a good tool for disciplining children if used properly and with other forms of discipline.  Each child responds differently.

[FatAndFaithless]

Spanking is far less common today than it was a few decades ago and the kids in school are far worse behaved.

Got any data for that?

[Lek]

Spanking is far less common today than it was a few decades ago and the kids in school are far worse behaved.

Got any data for that?

I get it from talking to teachers. Why? Do you believe students are just as well-behaved today?