Spanking children... acceptable or not as discipline?

[Orrex]

172. I do find it interesting that people are so quick to judge, yes

Last edited Wed Apr 16, 2014, 03:18 PM - Edit history (1)

As is always the case in these threads, there's a lot of post hoc pop psychology about "a need to control" as well as a lot of clever rhetoric to equate a single literal tap with a protracted literal bludgeoning. If it makes people feel better to cast the first stone, well, bully for them.

I suspect that what they compassionately dismiss as a "need to control" is often a matter of desperate parents in desperate circumstances overwhelmed by the stress and hardship of life. Although hardship certainly doesn't justify abuse of a child, it reveals that the issue can require a more nuanced solution than the scolding refrain "what terrible parents!" Incidentally, likening such parents to Republicans speaks of a need to control through shaming. Hmm.


Again, lest you imagine ambiguity where there is none, I do not condone the spanking of children. However, I recognize that reality is often more complex than can be determined from a quick glance in a supermarket check-out line followed by self-righteous finger-wagging.