To smack or not to smack???????

[beanie]

That programme made me cry, especially that little boy. His dad was crushing his hand because he played with a straw!!!! It has just made my mind up for me, I will not hit my child.

 

[cassi]

that bit made me so upset too, i looked at his little face and said "poor little lad" it was horrible..at least his dad regrets it...

 

[violet-glow]

That programme made me cry, especially that little boy. His dad was crushing his hand because he played with a straw!!!! It has just made my mind up for me, I will not hit my child.

OMG! Im so glad I didnt watch it. Why cant they show a 'normal family' having a 'normal family life' not these stupid idiots that decide to half kill their child because they did something to bug the parent etc. Arrrgghh I think o.t.t smacking is seriously wrong, as do most people. A small tap is one thing, but crushing your childs hand??? bloody hell

 

[beanie]

He was a horrible man, he said to his wife "you would make a good politician, if you had the brains", complete control freak!!!! It was like they had this new baby and they were spending all their time with him and the older child was just a nuisance to them

 

[violet-glow]

He was a horrible man, he said to his wife "you would make a good politician, if you had the brains", complete control freak!!!! It was like they had this new baby and they were spending all their time with him and the older child was just a nuisance to them

Aww thats horrible ...what goes around comes around. I hope it comes back to him a million times worse

 

[jennywren]

I didnt see the programme I saw a clip on this morning of the woman who smaked her kids round the head, I dont agree with that AT ALL. I dont agree with swearing at (or in front of) children.

I think its a fine line tbh

I voted yes, I dont have kids yet, but with my child I will in extreme circumstances smack never round the head or anything and never hard enough to leave marks. if though I realised on the few occasions I did it, it wasnt working I would stop, if it doesnt work there is no point in keeping doing it. My parents smaked my and my bro if we did something really bad and we knew we best never do something like it again, it worked, and we respected them. We both are very close to our parents still. It was always controlled smacks though and never out of anger or frustration. i think thats what alot of parents can do, I see it in town, kids being naughty so parents draging them fing this and fing that at them and whacking them, that is uncontrolled and completley wrong.

Like I say, its a very fine line, I agree other options should be explored first, but I also know what I say I wuld smack my child it would be rare and only when they are older to know and accept the reasons why once explained.

I however do not agree that the government should put in a bill for it to be illegal to disipline your child in a certain way, that in whatever case is taking parental rights away, I dont think anyone has any right to take away your choices to such an extreme of how you choose to bring up/disipline your children.

As some one else stated, how long before letting your child get in bed with you and having a cuddle etc will be classed as some form as abuse!

 

[Rosieroo]

That programme made me cry, especially that little boy. His dad was crushing his hand because he played with a straw!!!! It has just made my mind up for me, I will not hit my child.

It made me cry too I cried twice, both times when they showed that little boy. Felt so sorry for him, he's only a baby really and his dad really treated him badly. I'm quite a soft person in the way that I well up a lot, but that got to me so much.

Don't you reckon that the foreign woman's eldest kid is going to end up losing it one day and either thumping her or some unsuspecting person?

 

[hels]

I only saw bits of the programme, im so glad i watched it. YES they chose extreme cases, but it has totally made my mind up. I will not ever smack Charlie. What i did see me made me feel very sad. I think that woman with the wooden spoon was completely barking!!! I couldnt see one shred of evidence from this documentry to suggest that smacking is benefical!

 

[hels]

Yes Kina, I thought that straight away! I think it will firstly be her, then many other's after her. But thats ok....she has taught that its ok to hit people.

 

[Dee1985]

Im in the middle of watching it, its changed my views so much i think its so cruel from this day on i will never even tap Diors hand now as she wont learn from it.

the straw part was real sad. and did any one see when the 1yr old fell and hit his head and the mum went to smack the 3yr old and told him of for being near them? he didnt even do any thing

 

[beanie]

I however do not agree that the government should put in a bill for it to be illegal to disipline your child in a certain way, that in whatever case is taking parental rights away, I dont think anyone has any right to take away your choices to such an extreme of how you choose to bring up/disipline your children.

As some one else stated, how long before letting your child get in bed with you and having a cuddle etc will be classed as some form as abuse!

Whilst on the whole I agree, I do think though that the government need to intervene in this case as there are so many parents out there who need to know what is and what is not acceptable. To me smacking is a tap on the hand, to those parents on that programme it was hitting them on the head with a spatula. Whilst the parents should have the right to bring up their children as they wish the sad reality is, is that there are those that think violence is acceptable. I work with the results of these parents and I think for the sake of the children and society it needs to be made very clear what is or isn't allowed. I only wish they would make swearing at kids illegal too. I don't think they will ever make cuddling illegal but they do have laws for when the "cuddling" becomes harmful, so they should have the same for when smacking becomes physical abuse.

 

[jennywren]

Whilst on the whole I agree, I do think though that the government need to intervene in this case as there are so many parents out there who need to know what is and what is not acceptable. To me smacking is a tap on the hand, to those parents on that programme it was hitting them on the head with a spatula. Whilst the parents should have the right to bring up their children as they wish the sad reality is, is that there are those that think violence is acceptable. I work with the results of these parents and I think for the sake of the children and society it needs to be made very clear what is or isn't allowed. I only wish they would make swearing at kids illegal too. I don't think they will ever make cuddling illegal but they do have laws for when the "cuddling" becomes harmful, so they should have the same for when smacking becomes physical abuse.

well yes I do agree partly, while I think the government should not make it illegal to smack your child, they should make clear guidlines as what is accepted as a smack (like you say, tap on the hand or for me even on the bottom - as long as NO MARKS are left) and what is classed as a hit, therefor becomming abuse!

I do hate it when people swear at children ''get your fing a** over here you stupid little fing sh1t'' for example, that make me what to dicipline the parent and show them what a smack really is - then I would be stooping to there levels though!!!

 

[claireabell]

I can't believe I sat and watched that programme, it angered me so much. That poor little boy who's dad squeezed his hand for playing with a straw....i couldn't believe that...the dad had obviously had a crap day at work and was an utter control freak and he was just making the little boy cry more...there was no need for that. I thought they might have found more "normal" families, but most of them were just....well what seemed to me as very angry parents.
The foriegn lady with the spatula well what can I say? We probably all thought the same about her, her behaviour was just outrageous, that isn't smacking that's more abuse, it didn't look like just a tap either!
The first family with the little boy who kept swearing...well smacking him was obviously not working as he got a smack for swearing and then two minutes later swore again....er hello smacking is obviously not doing him any favours and he isn't learning anything....what was wrong with these parents? I was saddened and outraged by this programme and surely after watching that the social services would have something to say about some of those families.
I mean there's a tap on the hand and there's hitting your child which looked rather hard with a god damn spatula.....I really can't get over that. Her son will probably grow up and turn on her and really rebel against anything she says.....as if she thought that because she hit them the way she did she would prevent them taking drugs, getting pregnant and would make them do well in school.....please what planet was she on?

 

[weestar21]

i watched most of it and i will still continue to smack my kids if they do something really bad. That woman scared me walking around with her fish slice thing banging it off things though and i would never ever hurt my kids with anything except a smack with my hand.

 

[Freya]

I have not answered one way or the other because whilst I have not smacked my children (my daughter is 4) it does not mean that I will never do it I just haven't found the need to at the moment.

As for goverment intervention there seems to me that children are getting worse as society becomes more of a nanny state. As someone argued some people choose to smack their children as a form of discipline and others physically abuse their children by bringing in a law on smacking the people who physically abuse probably wont stop because they are extreme anyway. What worries me is that children now have so many rights that they can take their parents to court (what is that about). I am not saying that children shouldn't have rights but they have to be taught and learn acceptable behaviour just like they have to learn to talk, walk etc. Children do push boundaries which they should and is good for them but they need to have limits. How you choose to teach them limits should be up to parents.
If they are going to bring in laws they should educate parents on how to deal wiht their children because not all parents know how.

Sorry for the ramble but I just think a lot of children are out of control and we need to set some boundaries.

 

[lauramumof2]

Some of those folk in the programme were hitting out of temper, there was no consistency to it. The 3 year old was scared of his dad because he smacked him but not of his mum because she didnt. it didnt show though what procedures if any that she used to discipline.

It was the extreme cases though, no one was getting a tap on the hand for minor things.

 

[Tara & Liam]

my own personal opinion how can you expect your child not to smack others. if you use smacking as a form of discipline then i think that your child will use it as their own means to an end. but saying that we have told our kids that if someone hits you then you hit them back. so if we hit them then we should expect to be smacked back shouldnt we.

plus DH was beaten as a kid by his step to**er and he would never dream of smacking.

naughty step for joshua, and liam when he is older. with kieran its priviledges stopped. works a dream