Spanking Yes or No?

[Disneymoon04]

I was... and it didn't do a darn thing. A hold on priveledges/grounding was much more effective on me and that's what I'll use with my children.

 

[Towncrier]

I remember being spanked once when I was a child. My brother had kicked off one of his shoes and it flew across the room and hit me in the head. I grabbed my head and started screaming (because it hurt so bad). My dad came running into our bedroom and told me to let go of my head so that he could see it was OK. I refused and kept screaming. So he started swatting my backside until I let go of my head and grabbed my bottom.

My mom used to keep a fly swatter on top of the fridge and, when we got out of line, she would grab it and swat something (but never myself or my siblings). We got the message. I asked her about the fly swatter a couple of years ago and she told me that she never intended to hit us with it. We both chuckled because I finally realized that my mom had managed to psych us out all those years.

Fast forward to the second part of the question. Would I spank my kids. The answer (which wasn't really there) in my case is "never again". When DS James was still in diapers, he did something trivial that I had told him NOT to do. He was in his bedroom playing with toys and he threw one. I grabbed him by the arm and swatted him with my open hand. One swat. I missed his diaper and caught him squarely on the thigh. He burst into tears and, to my horror, I saw my handprint appear on his leg. And for what. For throwing a toy. I picked him up and held him and promised him (and myself) that I would never strike him again. And in the 13 years since, I have kept my word.

I only read the original question and WebmasterMichelle's response to this poll. I don't think that I'll read the rest. I don't want to sit in judgement of anyone else. I just wanted to voice my personal opinion that I don't feel that I should spank any child. That works for me. It might not work for other parents in other situations, but that's not for me to judge.