Count the Bad Mommies

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

To spank or not to spank

When I first heard the new anti-spanking laws. I was like, WTF? How DARE anyone tell me I am not allowed to spank my kid !!

Ciara has been given a few hidings in her life. She has always been spanked on the bottom or tapped on the hands (for touching things she ain't supposed to!)

I have had heated arguments with anti-spanking parents about this issue, and really, at the end of the day Ciara is not abused in any sense of the word, and no-one is going to change my mind about the value of a good smack on the bottom.

My main opposition to this law is that our child services are already over loaded with REAL, AWFUL cases of UNSPEAKABLE abuse, how the hell are they going to police a spank on the bottom? If Ciara is throwing one of her world renowned tantis in Pick ‘n Pay and I give her a smack on the behind, am I going to end up behind bars? How ludicrous. Instead of one social worker to 30 cases, it will now be one social worker to 100 cases, or more. Feels like we are going backwards, neh?

But then I sat and thought about it for a while, and realised what these laws are really about.
They are about that father who claims that he broke his 3 year old childs arm in the process of disciplining her.

They are about that mother who killed her child with a wallop on the head, and claims to have been disciplining him.

They are about that new mother who has grown so frustrated and tired that she shakes her baby to death, claiming "trying to discipline".

They are about all those people out there who cannot understand that their is a huge difference between a spank on the bottom and a hit to the head with a baseball bat.

Most of us have enough common sense to know that beating our children is not okay. Unfortunately there are too many who don’t have any common sense at all - and burning kids with cigarettes seems a perfectly acceptable way to teach your child something.

7 comments:

Briget said...

yes Kerryn...

I hear what you say...

But

as my boys are very very aware...

It still takes them 20 minutes to get here...

;-)

B

Patchwork said...

Mhhh ...

I have never spanked The Pickle.

I can't. I just look at her, looking scared because she has done something wrong and I crumble.

I'd feel awful. I do give her a really stern talking to though.

I don't think there should be such stringent laws about spanking kids.

There is a very clear difference between abusing your child and disciplining them, I think it's unfair to lump us all in one catergory.

"Lay a hand on them and you are abusing them" Ridiculous.

AngelConradie said...

excellent post, and it is a very sad situation indeed...
damien has also had his share of hidings, they just never had much of an effect on his behaviour.

Tara said...

It's very sad that there are some people that difference doesn't occur to.

Getting a good hiding worked on us around here hey, you did something stupidly wrong, you got a hiding, you sure as hell didn't do it again.

Sweets said...

nobody is going to tell me i can't spank my kids... i have two boys..!!! if anybody ever complains i'll give them a bloody hiding!

Nosjunkie said...

I am a believer of a "goeie ou pakslae" or a good spanking... kids are more afraid of the noise and the idee then the actuall act.

on the other hand I get why these laws are in place I just dont agree with the approuch.
why are we outlawing corporal punishment when we should be adressing the serius moral decay that causes that dad to break the arm of the three year old.
they are covering a sinkhole with leaves and hoping it goes away.

My mom and dad gave me fair amount of hidings I dont remember a single blue mark or even pinch of pain but I do remember that it worked and god knows I was a naughty little shit

Anonymous said...

I still think there is a really clear line between spanking and abuse. A quick spanking on the bottom is completely different than a continued beating. I don't believe this is something that needs to be addressed by the legislature, and again, how would this even be enforced? There's a good debate going on right now at www.opposingviews.com/questions/is-spanking-an-acceptable-form-of-discipline about spanking. Experts from both sides weigh in and provide counterarguments. In my opinion, I don't think this is something the law should intervene in, even though I rarely spank my own children.