Spanking kids?!

[LB00]

So, I’ve just come across a poll In a newspaper (in England) and it was - should spanking be banned. For me, a staggering 70% of parents said no! Followed by loads of comments on people saying they hit their kids. Personally I am not about that way of treating a human, since becoming a parent I have learnt a lot on gentle/ attachment parenting and i thought this was the same way for many parents these days. So I’m just curious, who thinks it’s ok to still hit children and who doesn’t?

[BunnyRuddington]

So I’m just curious, who thinks it’s ok to still hit children and who doesn’t?

I can't imagine anyone on MN is going to be rushing to admit that they hit their DC...

[Jannt86]

I think like many things the world is very divided. The world is undeniably less happy than it was a couple of generations ago and kids are growing up more unhappy and less able to function in the world. Some people think that's because they 'just need a good slap like they got back in the day' and others think that you need to combat this conflict with love. I'm firmly in team love for many reasons. I was hit and shouted at as a kid and I am smart enough to recognise that it contributes to many of the less helpful aspects of my personality and why as an adult I can take my parents or leave them... I think we're in a society now as well where kids really need to feel a trust and connection with their parents. They're not as able to roam freely with their friends and really experience childhood like elder generations were. Their childhood is unaturally antisocial however much we try and limit exposure to this. They're also constantly being bombarded with conflicting and negative messages about self image etc. And in addition to this many children are spending less and less time with their parents as we all have to work more to bring enough money in. Also, it's never been easier for kids to be secretive and gain exposure to things that will do them significant harm eg on the internet. The two main aspects of parenting are connection and correction and IMO connection has never been more important