Have you ever smacked your child, given 2021 UK statistic?

[Tinkerbelle4]

Just seen this clip, not really a big fan is super nanny but was shocked to hear the UK 2021 statistic that 62% of parents had physically disciplined their child.

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1HXeNmtEDB/?mibextid=wwXIfr

I’m curious- do you fall into that statistic? Especially if you have children say under 16- have you ever smacked them?

I don’t believe for a second 62% of UK parents have hit their children

I did once or twice when my DD was young.

I was actually never against hitting and I grew up in a DV home and so I just thought hitting each other was normal and almost of sign of love.

But I did it as one time as my DD bit me and it was a reaction like slapping a fly and the second time my DD ran right in front of a car and it was out of fear and I thought I’d rather she sting from the slap than be paralysed or killed by a car.

However, I am totally against smacking now.

I do not think a man should hit his wife (or vice versa) or hit a pet - so why hit a child.

I think you also can’t teach someone not to hit whilst hitting them yourself.

People talk about gentle parenting - but I don’t think not smacking is gentle parenting, it’s just not abusive.

My DC are angels (more pure luck I believe) but I rarely shout or get stressed out, so when I do they know they’ve done wrong.
I don’t need to resort to smacking.

Never. I was smacked as a child and I was determined to break that particular cycle.

I have never, would never and will never hit my children. There is no sense in it and it’s abusive. Before anyone replies and says “it’s not abusive to give your child a tap”, stop minimising what you did. If I genuinely “tapped” my child, they’d assume I was just politely getting their attention. If it’s enough to hurt them, it’s hitting, smacking, slapping and you should call it what it is!

Thanks, I see what you mean now.

Link to the study https://yougov.com/en-gb/articles/38382-smacking-parents-who-were-physically-punished-chil

The study seems to have included parents of adult children so the 62% who ever have used physical discipline will include those who are now 70+ and had kids 50 years ago when smacking was much more acceptable/ normal

Once. My son. He was 4 and I was solo parenting him and his baby sister. We now know he's neuro divergent but he was screaming hitting and biting me.

I felt awful, feel awful and have never told anyone. I felt sick for weeks afterwards. I will never do it again.

Thanks @AltitudeCheck

So I was right then. It's not all parents. Just those who were themselves hit by their own parents. They do say that people who were abused as children can go on to be abusers themselves.

And it includes those who had children many decades ago when a smack was considered normal.

Yes, not often though. I was smacked as a dc & it didn’t bother me at all. Would much rather be smacked vs sent to my room/grounded which I hated.

Yes. Have a lovely relationship with my children but will smack them (to shock. Not mark!!) if required.

but most people who do won’t bother to respond as it’ll only attract the holy parents!

I don’t think you have to be ‘holy’ to not smack children.
I was smacked as a child and it made me lose all respect for my mother, so I always vowed I’d never do it if I had children.
I have three and I’ve never ever felt the need to.

Not once

No, but I won't say never.

Never smacked a child or shouted at one.

No but my mum once bit me and I it had the desired effect. I had a biting phase and used to bite everyone. Especially my older sister.

One day bit my mum and she grabbed my hand and CHOMPED me right back. Started crying and ran to my dad who sided with my mum. Never bit anyone again apart from once when a girl tried to choke me out but that was a self defence bite.

I am very against hitting kids but on this occasion I don’t think my mum was wrong to bite me.

Once. Felt awful.

No. My son is 24 now, my brother and I were smacked when we were children, and it has such a firm sad place in my memory and would never want my child to be on the receiving end of that. Also it is a strong adult vs a small child (potentially). It just seems wrong on every level .

Maybe adults who were regularly smacked as children remember it far more than those who might have been smacked just the once, for running into the road as a toddler for instance.

My late DM (born in the 1920's) told me that her mother would slap her round the face for being cheeky, and she vowed to never, ever hit me as she hated it so much.

What percentage of posters think the OP is going to come back to the thread?

Mine are adult and we never smacked either of them but I’m a 60/70s child and my parents didn’t smack either

I think that's because it's the one thing almost everybody has in common where disobeying/wriggling free/being defiant can have absolutely catastrophic results.

Nobody is going to think after a 3 year old runs off into the road for the 5th time and on this occasion, a vehicle is unable to stop in time 'At least you didn't smack him, that would have really damaged him'.

The nearest other thing I could think of where a parent might do it is where a kid continually takes their seat belt off and/or tries to climb into the front seat/endangers everybody in the vehicle and around it. But not everybody has a car, so that's less likely than walking along a pavement.

Never even smacked any of my dogs, let alone my children. My parents never laid a finger on us as children either. It’s not something to be proud of or be smug about, it should be normal, like brushing teeth normal.

Me too. And felt terrible after. and sometimes wondered if a quick smack like i would have had as a child would have actually been less distressing for everyone

Same here. I was born in the mid-60s and was never smacked, and nor was DH. Neither of us ever smacked our three sons, who were born in the mid-90s. We've never been shouty parents either, though mine certainly were.

@NeverDropYourMooncup i sound like I’m being objectionable on purpose but have to admit it’s still not something I understand, in that context. Your instinct is to pull them back, not smack them (isn’t it?)