Pope Francis says it is OK to smack children if their ‘dignity is maintained’

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Are people who are okay with spanking also okay with other adults and authority figures doing it too? I mean after all, it's just a positive disciplinary reinforcement right? So should teachers, coaches, Zachary Quinto, ect...also be allowed to rap your child across the butt if they are misbehaving?

As long as their 'dignity is maintained' it's OK apparently. Whatever the fuck that means

Cops should be allowed to do it too right? /s
 
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Not even the most crass belt weilding father would defend spanking a freakin baby. For not wanting to post anedoctal evidence yours sure didn't help matters

People spank 16-month-olds. I personally know people who do. And younger.

But don't take my word for it, there's a study from the University of Michigan that shows 30 percent of 1-year-old children were spanked at least once in the past month by their mother, father or both parents.

U-M Study said:
The study found 30 percent of 1-year-old children were spanked at least once in the past month by their mother, father or both parents.

A long-time topic of debate, many parents in the U.S. spank their children, study authors said, adding previous research has focused on disciplining children as young as age 3, in part, because spanking is common among children of this age.

“Studies have shown that spanking is related to children’s greater aggression, depression and other negative behavior,” the report says.

Researchers examined 2,788 families who participated in a study of new births in urban areas. The study indicated that spanking by the child’s mother, father or mother’s current partner when the child was a year old was linked to child protective services’ involvement between ages 1 and 5.

During that time, 10 percent of the families received at least one visit by CPS.
 
this kinda says it all doesnt it?? You would not allow anyone else be it teacher, doctor or whatever to spank you child because you know it is wrong.
But as long as it is you that does the wrong thing and not somebody else its ok for you because in your mind you are always right even if you do something wrong.

It's a matter of trusting the system. I don't trust the system enough to believe all teachers, doctors, and policemen have an investment in raising my child to be a productive member of society.

If my child's coach were to make him run laps or do pushups though, then that's fine so long as it's within reason of course.

Stop with this false equivalency nonsense, please.
 
Some kids need a good smack. Some kids it's the only thing that keeps their ass in line.

It shouldn't be the first thing used to discipline. But I think the threat of catching that ass whoopin' as a child prevented me from doing some pretty shitty things...

With that said I'm not sure if I'm going to hit my kids. But I'm not closing my mind off to the idea. It depends.

I think the problem with this is the idea that


1. Spanking has to be the solution
2. That creating a parenting style where spanking is a requirement is self defeating


Do gaffers really think there are just kids that -have- to be spanked, and coincidentally, those kids are just the kids of people who are pro spanking?


Like.... Maybe this kid gets spanked all the time? How many gaffers start stories like "I needed to get spanked, I would steal cars, get into fights, abuse animals and the only thing that would keep me in line is spankings" without realizing the fundamental problem.
 
The amount of people in here who think a small spanking on the butt is child abuse is astounding.

Yup. And I'd wager some of those posting that don't even have kids of their own.
I don't need to spank, I give a light tap on the hand. But clearly spanking your own child is not abuse, it's called discipline.

Some calling it abuse make it sound like parents are spanking their kids with barb wired baseball bats or something.
 
I think the problem with this is the idea that


1. Spanking has to be the solution
2. That creating a parenting style where spanking is a requirement is self defeating


Do gaffers really think there are just kids that -have- to be spanked, and coincidentally, those kids are just the kids of people who are pro spanking?

You forgot:

3. These children coincidentally grow up thinking spanking is great and set them straight and they will totally do it to their own kids.

What a coinkydink!
 
The people that are against spanking seem to think that those that DO spank use it as their only form of punishment or control.

Bad parents do.

Good parents know the time, place, circumstance, and situation to spank. Also, if you aren't a parent, you shouldn't be allowed to post in this thread.
 
The raising of the child is my responsibility not theirs.

kinda a dick move to "know" that you child needs spanking to behave but at the same time park them in school or whatever and deny the people that work with the children hours every day your "valuable" tool of raising a child.
 
Let's be fair here, all your evidence has been anecdotal as well. If you have a Pew Research spanking study, go ahead and link it, preferably without the passive aggressiveness that you just exhibited.

After a quick google search, there's this article from Parents.com:
http://www.parents.com/toddlers-preschoolers/discipline/spanking/spanking-discipline-debate/

It talks a little about the pro side and the anti side, but mostly sides with the anti folks.

It talks about the extremely large number of studies that have tried to address this issue, and the inherent problems with the subject.
 
Absolutely nothing wrong with spanking a child when absolutely needed (and within reason in terms of force, obviously).
 
You seriously can't figure out some way to teach your children basic things in a way that doesn't involve corporal punishment? How about some critical thinking or doing a Google search before you strike, or is that too much to ask?

Google search. Yeah, there we go. I honestly don't need to a book or google to tell me how to raise my children. Thanks.

People keep acting like parents that spank use that as their only form of discipline. I was spanked maybe a couple times a year.

Yeah, no shit. I got 2 kids.. they are 9 and 7... and I can't remember the last time either was spanked at all. It was a rare thing to begin with. It was a quick end to a very bad behavior and that was that.

If a parents answer to every thing is a spanking, that's wrong. So is yelling at them, or depriving them of basic needs, etc, etc etc.... spanking in and of it self is no where near as damaging than any other host of bad parenting techniques.

It's a tool, much like other forms of corrective action.

I never beat the shit out of my kids. My parents never beat the shit out of me.

They spanked me at times.. and honestly it was typically because me and/or my brothers were doing something particularly dangerous to ourselves, others or property.

Raising kids isn't some easy thing.. no matter what any parenting book or.. google tells you it is.
 
The only reason spanking kids isn't widely condemned in this country is that we have some feeling that we get to decide to do what we want with our "property." It's still cool to think that children are property and not a living creature/person worthy of respect.

The reason why spanking is tolerated is that raising a little shit is far worse outcome than occasional spanking. The goal of the parent is to not raise a little shit by any means necessary.
 
I don't think spanking is child abuse unless you over do it. Ie excessive force.

My family did it. But interestingly my sisters had it less. Dunno if it's a boy vs girl thing or them getting used to it not being a normal thing anymore
 
Aside from the fact that "LOL YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT A PARENT" is the laziest argument you can make, kids that young can absolutely understand.

Our son knows to stop 2 feet from the top of the stairs and wait for one of us to carry him down. We accomplished this by repetition. Letting him get close to the edge (supervised of course), then moving him back and firmly saying no.

Same with the stove. We'll hold him up and say "hot!" and put our hands up. Whenever he even sees fire (stove, fireplace, etc...) he does it.

We're very fortunate that he responds so well to this type of teaching. I'm not saying it's the solution for everyone. But parenting doesn't boil down to "spanking or bust."

You DO NOT have to be a parent to participate in this discussion or have a valid opinion.
My son is very cautious and has always been very good about not doing dangerous things and following instructions.
My daughter yells at herself "No Olivia!" as she does something dangerous or 'naughty'. Whenever she gets within 3 feet of the end of the driveway she makes a mad dash to try and get into the road because she knows she isn't allowed in the road all the while yelling "No Olivia!".
 
Yup. And I'd wager some of those posting that don't even have kids of their own.
I don't need to spank, I give a light tap on the hand. But clearly spanking your own child is not abuse, it's called discipline.

Some calling it abuse make it sound like parents are spanking their kids with barb wired baseball bats or something.

yet everyone in here was at some point a child and had to deal with punishment from parents be it spanking or something else some kids learned to deal with it some could not others evem defend it but at the end of the day the data says it does NOT WORK which also shits on your its just discipline line.
 
Holy shit at the sheltered individuals in this thread. Listen, this is mainly a cultural perspective applauded by the Pope, he's not advocating any "abuse". The streets of Bogota or the Barrio in Dominican Republic aren't the same environment in comparison to the suburbs of Connecticut, people aren't raised the same way because of circumstances. Also let's not get crazy here, no one is advocating for an assault, this is for light physical correction of poor actions by maturing kids, this is a corrective action. That's what's being spoken of. No one will tolerate an uncalled for "assault" of little Tommy just because he wet his underwear.

This isn't abnormal in Latin/Hispanic cultures. Things are different because of the environment, reaction comes with the territory. Some of you are clearly sheltered and out of touch with reality and are seeing things or taking things the wrong way.

Your streets might not run amok with high poverty / high crime rates. Things got to give across most spectrums, there's always reaction to action based on circumstances.

Sheltered perspectives don't hold any merit because the world is a harsh place naturally and via self infliction. A tiger born in captivity starves to death if unleashed to the wild unless you teach it how to hunt.

Some of you don't have any idea of how shit works and why certain things are done. Your lack of perspective doesn't help you one bit.

Maybe your intelligence will help you understand.
 
When I did something stupid or bad as a kid, I either got a pinch around ear/neck, raised voices, smack on the bottom or something along these lines.

Obviously my parents were monsters/child abusers/bad parents going by some of the replies here.....

Except they're not, I love my parents and think this was perfectly fine way to discipline a child where positive reinforcement fails to get the point across.

The Pope is fine in my book and I'm not even catholic.
 
There is no need to strike a child. Or anyone. At any time.

There are so many more tools you can use to discipline. Spanking doesn't need to be included in the toolbox.
 
Absolutely nothing wrong with spanking a child when absolutely needed (and within reason in terms of force, obviously).

If a child manages to destroy you to such a degree that you are at your wits' end and need to hit them guess who is really the child?
 
I doubt many of them are posting on GAF.

I'm certain there are plenty of gaffers well versed in the scientific community though. And know how to read scientific articles and the results therein. Like the study mentioned above regarding the long term negative effects of spanking kids.
 
Google search. Yeah, there we go. I honestly don't need to a book or google to tell me how to raise my children. Thanks.
What did books or the internet ever teach anybody? Nothin'! I know how to raise my kids perfectly because Super Jesus injected the necessary code into my DNA at the moment of conception. That, and my parents spanked me. That's enough science, thanks.
 

Couldn't imagine hitting my 16 month old. If she misbehaves I put her in her high chair and face her against and empty wall until she calms down

The hell is going on with this pope. He started out so good then became anti gay and now says it's okay for corporal punishment. Smh

I was whipped and have the scars on my back to prove it. Did not help me at all
 
I was occasionally whipped.
I choose to use critical thinking with my 7 year old daughter.
The extreme exaggeration used by some on the opposing side halts some meaningful discussion though.
 
He's saying "don't hit them in the face."

I don't spank my daughter, but I got spanked when I was a kid, and I never thought of it as child abuse. I can see how someone can separate "discipline" from "child abuse." A light smack on the butt or a tap on the top of the head worked for me as a kid just as a reminder.

I think saying you should never discipline a child in a physical way is as ignorant as saying spanking and hitting are totally cool. There's a gentler middle ground. Probably. Maybe.
 
yet everyone in here was at some point a child and had to deal with punishment from parents be it spanking or something else some kids learned to deal with it some could not others evem defend it but at the end of the day the data says it does NOT WORK which also shits on your its just discipline line.

Not sure what your definition of "not work" really is.

Besides, it's really hard to break anything down to spanking or not spanking.. because that's only one singular part of disciplining a child.. and for a lot of people I know.. a very very small part of it.

Spanking is no way shape or form the be all end of bad parenting. There's other things parents do that can be far more damaging.

You seem to have a serious interest in proving your point in this topic, but do you have kids.. did you have a traumatic childhood? I really want to understand where you are coming from. Because being as researched in this as you are there's probably more than likely a reason your choosing to search out confirmation bias to this view on spanking.
 
The reason why spanking is tolerated is that raising a little shit is far worse outcome than occasional spanking. The goal of the parent is to not raise a little shit by any means necessary.
So why isn't it still cool to still whip dogs into submission?
 
Oh wow didn't think people on GAF would think of this as an actual serious issue as child abuse, must be one of those cultural relativistic things. Like, for americans with lax gun control, police brutality, death penalty, and the general glorification of violence, a slapped kid is considered child abuse? Wow
 
What did books or the internet ever teach anybody? Nothin'! I know how go raise my kids perfectly because Super Jesus injected the necessary code into my DNA at the moment of conception. That, and my parents spanked me. That's enough science, thanks.

I'm an atheist.. get over yourself with your broad generalizations. So kindly, stop making assumptions about shit you don't know about.
 
Oh wow didn't think people on GAF would think of this as an actual serious issue as child abuse, must be one of those cultural relativistic things. Like, for americans with lax gun control, police brutality, death penalty, a slapped kid is considered child abuse? I can't
There are plenty of parents in America that will spank their kids and some that will do even more than open hand spanks. Many others will defend those parents right to do so even if they don't spank their own kids.
 
He's saying "don't hit them in the face."

I don't spank my daughter, but I got spanked when I was a kid, and I never thought of it as child abuse. I can see how someone can separate "discipline" from "child abuse." A light smack on the butt or a tap on the top of the head worked for me as a kid just as a reminder.

I think saying you should never discipline a child in a physical way is as ignorant as saying spanking and hitting are totally cool. There's a gentler middle ground. Probably. Maybe.

Yes, i agree.
Most of the time, those who get spanked sometime also get a sorry from their parent. They reconcile.

I'm sure those that get spanked or hit have a heart to heart talk with their parent.
And really, i think most parent hate spanking their own son.
 
Instead of saying "lol people in this thread," how about those who are okay with spanking provide some non-anecdotal evidence on its effectiveness?

Like this from Cornell.

the problem with most research is no line at straight up abuse.

"The view that detrimental child outcomes invari-
ably follow from nonabusive spanking is contradicted
by several patterns in these results. First, the stronger
the causal conclusiveness of the studies, the more
likely they are to detect beneficial outcomes of spank-
ing, not detrimental outcomes. Second, causally rele-
vant studies (e.g., controlled longitudinal studies or
better) have never found detrimental child outcomes
under any one of the following conditions: if abusive
parents were removed from the spanking group, if
spanking was measured as a back-up for milder disci-
plinary tactics, or if the sample were clinically defiant
children."

basically, spanking is effective/non-detrimental if it is:
mild
used as a backup after other methods have failed
motivated by concern for child (ex. not out of frustration)
 
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