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Related: Culture Forums, Support ForumsToday started poorly at work with a heated discussion about striking children...
Got into a heated discussion this morning, first thing, at work about using physical methods of discipline. I was completely outnumbered and now I'm really upset that this many people think that hitting a child for any reason is ok. To me, there is ZERO reason, ever, to strike a child. I don't care if it is a spanking, a whipping, or a slap on the hand to say no. There are more positive ways to discipline and they don't carry the inherent risk of psychological damage or potential for aggression in the child later in life. The fact that people kept trying to convince me otherwise with anecdotal evidence of "Well I/my kids turned out fine." really pisses me off. The hard, scientific, validated, verifiable evidence is clear...striking a child does more harm than good. PERIOD.
Just starts the day off on a miserable tone and makes me antsy for the rest of the day. I like the fact that my boss feels comfortable enough to debate with me and I with him, but this one put me a little over the edge. It should have been clear from the first couple moments of the conversation that this was a particularly touchy topic for me and to let it die, but he kept pushing his arguments. My particular favorite was his use of the biblical argument (knowing that I am agnostic) of "Spare the rod, spoil the child." Within a few sentences he then gave the question of what would I do when my child hits me. My response of "Turn the other cheek and hug them tight." That was the only one that seemed to make him pause for a moment...
I think a lot of my personal views have been strengthened as my wife and I have begun the adoptive process. We are just waiting for a child (or hopefully sibling children) to be matched with us. But in the meantime we read the profiles of why some of these children are in the adoptive system and it is so disheartening. There are kids who have been burned, beaten, molested, etc. - they don't need a parent that will spank them for spilling a glass of milk. That will only scar them further. They need love and respect. They need to know that no matter what mistakes are made, mom and dad will hold them close and love them. They need to know that no matter what actions are levied against you, violence is not the answer. There is already too much of that in the world.
pipi_k
(21,020 posts)It probably won't go any better here at DU, to be honest.
OK, so my 2 cents...
I was hit/spanked as a child.
I thought that was how people brought their kids up, and I did the same when I had kids.
I wish I hadn't. If there's anything in this world I wish I could go back and change, it's that. There are far better ways to deal with kids than hitting them, even if it's only a slap on the butt.
So now when I argue with people over it, I ask them if they ever hit another adult for doing something wrong. Even if it's just a slap on the hand.
If they don't, why not?
Usually, after that, it's just the sound of crickets.
Must suck to have to admit that they wouldn't think of slapping another adult for something they'd slap a kid for because:
1. They might get hit back by someone who could HURT them.
2. Their ass would be hauled into court for battery.
Yay!! Let's save the hits and slaps for people who can't fight back!!!
That is a BRILLIANT response! I'll be sure to save it. I know that I likely won't find 100% allies anywhere I go, but I needed to vent to calm myself and writing it down helps me to gain perspective on things. Thanks for taking the time to read it and offer your insights!
pipi_k
(21,020 posts)I guess my attitude on the subject had been changing little by little over the years anyway, but the most influential moment was when my youngest sister's daughter went through this period of extreme behavior.
Screaming fits and biting.
One day she (my niece, who was maybe 3 at the time) bit my mom, who was babysitting her.
My mom bit her back.
I thought it was wrong to do that anyway, but it wasn't until a year or two later, after neurological tests, etc., that doctors found something wrong with the "wiring" in my niece's brain.
She was put on medication and that solved the problem.
It wasn't even her fault, and all the biting back (or slaps, even) in the world would not have stopped the behavior.
I've never spoken with my mom about this, but I sometimes wonder if she ever feels badly in any way.
I would.
riderinthestorm
(23,272 posts)What a miserable start to the day.
Its interesting the things you make hard rules for when you become a parent.
For me, I never thought about spanking one way or another (and ended up not spanking either of them as it worked out) but I felt very strongly that I'd tell my kids I loved them every day no matter how much I might not have loved them that day.
That was a harder promise to keep than I thought as my one daughter has been a difficult teen.
I guess my only advice is that you'll find people get awfully defensive when you challenge their parenting. Try to put out the facts and then walk away before you get into a futile argument.
(((((Hug)))))
Versailles
(476 posts)I agree about the defensiveness as I was, in this case, the one being defensive! I had casually in conversation mentioned ages ago that I wouldn't spank my children and my boss brought it up again today with "This joker doesn't think you should ever spank a child, can you believe that?" That'll put you on the defensive real quick...or at least it will me!!
As a former teacher for 8 years, I've dealt with some rough situations, like having a desk thrown at me in my first week of teaching for example (that'll make you question your career field real quick!) and I learned that my getting angry and exploding, even just verbally or showing my being upset, did nothing to stop the behaviors I needed to stop. My frustration was comical to the students and they would try to get me riled up. I found when I moved to a new school and started over that a very logical empathetic non-temperamental approach worked wonders. I had control of my classroom rather than trying to regain control. That was an eye opener to me and I vowed that my entire life would take that more even-keeled approach to stressful situations. My wife gets very frustrated with me because I won't get emotional in an argument...5 years and I've only once gotten so angry that I slammed a door. I guess my point is that I've looked at my own anecdotal evidence and found that I don't like myself much when I let my negative emotions control me so I refuse to let them.
riderinthestorm
(23,272 posts)Versailles
(476 posts)Honestly. Thank you. Now if we can just get the DSS adoption people to see that all would be sunshine and roses!!!
Iggo
(47,559 posts)No good can come of this.