Were you spanked as child?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just can’t imagine hitting my kids or any kid for that matter. Especially as a reasoned, cold-blooded decision. Is it because you are bigger and stronger and they are dependent on you and so you know they can’t fight back?

I am anti-spanking just because research had shown it doesn’t work and it can have bad effects on kids but this line of thinking is nuts to me and akin to the people who don’t do Santa because it’s lying to your kids. Weirdos, the lot of you.

[Anonymous]

My spouse and I are healthcare professionals, and both of us are from cultures where kids routinely are spanked. I don't buy the argument that all spanking unquestionably damages kids--the opposite has been found in some cultures. For example, as noted in Nurture Shock, one study found an inverse correlation between spanking and aggression in African American kids--that is, the more they were spanked, the less behavioral problems like aggression they later experienced as teens. The authors basically concluded that spanking has different meanings across cultures. Perhaps spanking is unfathomable for some white Americans and they feel it is synonymous with abuse, but this is not the case in many Asian and African cultures, for example.

I do think the American Academy of Pediatrics has taken the appropriate position on spanking, however. It's a nuanced topic and for some parents, spanking can easily cross the line from simply calm, punitive spanking to hitting one's child in anger, so they are against it altogether to prevent abuse. I don't the above nuance would be taken correctly when setting a public policy. It's somewhat akin, perhaps, to drinking during pregnancy--a little perhaps is not harmful to the fetus, but in order to prevent really bad outcomes for a few people, the leading OBGYN orgs are against it altogether.

[Anonymous]

My parents pulled over on the side of the road when my siblings and I were arguing or complaining on car trips. They lined us up behind the car pulled our pants and underwear down and spanked us hard over and over until we were all crying hysterically.