Common sense? Didn't that become extinct circa 1970?

Or it may have been in 1980 when Toro (Lawnmowers) was sued. This was the suit that started all of the warning labels that we see on everything now. The beginning of the dumbing down of America.

Two neighbors where out mowing their grass. They had a row of hedges on their property line. They decided to go do something (like play golf) when they were finished with their yard work. One of them with a Toro lawnmower got the (not so) "bright" idea that if they picked up the lawn mower from the sides they could walk it along and trim the hedge much faster than doing it by hand with hedge clippers. The one guy tried picking it up by grabbing it under the deck and lost his fingers. They sued and won because no where on the mower was a sticker warning people not to reach under the deck.

Now IMHO, if this guy had received a "dope slap" as corrective action earlier in life he may have thought twice about the consequences of his actions.

Yes, I was spanked on occasion and my Father always said that this action (the fact that he had to do it) hurt him more than it was going to hurt me.

I remember one day after being gone all day playing in Forrest Park (Queens, NYC's version of Central Park) my Mother was furious. BTW, I did make it home before the street lights came on. She sent my Father up stairs to discipline me. I was about ready to get into the bath when he came in. Asked me where I was all day and I told him. He said something like "boys will be boys" explained that my Mother was worried and why she was so upset with me. After asking me if I understood, he told me that when he clapped his hands to make screaming crying sounds so that my Mother would think that he was spanking me. This is a perfect example of how the threat of a butt warming as a training aid can be effective after the real experience has been administered on some previous occasion.

 

I was raised in a very strict family. My dad and my mother used to spank me. When I left home and went to college, all of my family thought that I was going to rebel somehow and be out of control once I left home. On the contrary, I never deviated from the the path that my parents so strongly implemented. I only have one child, a daughter. My wife took care of the discipline. It is safe to say that she never received the beatings that I endured. She did get sent to her room, no television and other punishments that were much less physically painful, but they drove the point home.

 

My brother and sisters and I were never spanked. Neither I or my X spanked our kids, now 23 and 25. I don't think my brother or sister every spanked their kids either. They are 21, 20, 17, 16 and 4. So far they all seem to be fine kids, though the 17 year old is giving my sister a bad time right now, just typical teenage rebellion stuff.

 

Children should be spanked twice a day. If you don't know what they have done to deserve it, don't let that bother you. Rest assured, they know.

 

^

 

Wait ... I have to ask. Have you read Huckleberry Finn?

 

"Children should be spanked twice a day. If you don't know what they have done to deserve it, don't let that bother you. Rest assured, they know. Mike Garrison"

Having raised three children, all who survived, I am in agreement with Mike Garrison. Never spank in anger, wait until you are once again in control. Explain why you are disciplining them. Loss of privilege(s) should also be part of the discipline.

 

I do not believe in corporal punishment, heck in most states we do not even hurt murderers, why should we hurt our kids.
Removal of privileges is a must though as they do need boundaries.

 

As a child there were a few instances of LIGHT spanks on the bottom. They were few and far between and never ever were we hit in the head or face. I've seen parents give their kids the "slap upside the head" as I've heard it called and it makes me cringe.

My son got the same kind of discipline growing up, but as Jonas said, it was more to get his attention at times.

I have to say, while I think the "time out(s)" that some kids get today are often totally useless, I don't want to see my grandchildren spanked, AT ALL, though I don't think my son or daughter in law believe in spanking.

A lot of kids seem to lack discipline today. Often you can't tell who is running the show, the child or the parent. It seems the parent often explains himself/herself too many times, as if they have to justify to the child why they can/cannot do something. What happened to "because I said so!"?

 

For 2-4 year old, however, there is nothing you can take away that really matters to them - they cry for about 30 seconds, then forget all about it. No lesson learned.

Based on the decreasing frequency of serious misbehavior by Anika, I doubt she'll need to have her attention focused in this way much longer.

JonasM