I Spanked Her

March 3, 2020

It is hard to be a parent especially when your kid is naughty. So yesterday my daughter had an episode of tantrum because I told her to stop using her phone. She cried out loud and making “dabog.” I told her to stop but every time I do that, her crying became louder. So I have no choice. I picked up a slipper and spank her. After I did that, she suddenly stops but too scared at me. I felt guilt but I don’t have a choice. 😔

So a question on my mind came, is it okay to spank a child to be disciplined?

It can be difficult to us parents to teach discipline our children because as we know they are still immature when it comes to their behavior. They will act in any way they want without considering any consequences. And sometimes the only solution you can think of to correct this wrong behavior is spanking. I for myself have wondered many times is spanking an appropriate way to discipline my daughter. Yes, it’s the best solution when they are out of control but is it really that effective?

When I was a kid, I was spanked by my grandparents so many times that it made me think it is the right way to discipline my daughter. Yes, spanking gets an immediate response from our children compared to scolding them. As I have said above, I spanked my daughter yesterday because of her misbehavior. But I felt guilt after doing it. So I searched on the internet wether spanking is the best solution for my child to behave better. Here is what I found out.

Spanking can be effective when done correctly but it also comes with its fair share of consequences if its done excessively.

Spanking when done in a calm, loving environment, children learn appropriate behaviors more effectively. The focus of spanking should be helping children understand why their actions were wrong. Spanking isn’t an action to vent out our anger and frustration to our children. Helping them to understand their actions will have a long lasting effect on their behavior.

Spanking can appropriately establish respect for their parents. Not only to parents but also to those who are considered their elders. A little bit of fear from spanking can teach our children to behave better.

Since spanking is a strict disciplinary action, it helps set a standard for our children as to what kind of behavior is acceptable or not. Setting standards early on their lives will teach them how to live by the rules and to respect boundaries. This is important for their personal development as it can teach them to understand how to blend well into the society.

There are some benefits of spanking in raising a child when done correctly but of course not at all can agree. Many parents see only the negative side of spanking and I hate to admit but that there are.

Spanking as a disciplinary action teaches aggression to children because they can’t differentiate between what’s discipline and aggression on their age. This is the main reason why authorities or the government opposes this kind of action. Children who is spanked may think that being aggressive is okay when they see us parents act towards them.

Spanking also may affect a child’s relationship with their parents negatively. Like my daughter who became afraid of me after I spanked her, we can say that spanking can instill fear. This fear of them is a desperation attempt to avoid physical punishment to us parents.

Another downside I saw on the internet is spanking can cause poor performance at school. When parents spanks their children, they are focusing on the problem and not the solution. This might not result in improvement but instead it may add further stress to our children.

There are some pros and cons of spanking. For me, it is okay to spank your child sometimes as long as it is the last option for you. We should use first the alternative ways of teaching discipline to our children before using spanking as a means of disciplinary action.

Yes, I spanked my daughter yesterday and I felt sorry for it. So what I did is hug her and told her the reason why I spanked her in a calm manner. Good thing is she did understand.

Image source: Credits to me. 😀

Sources:

https://www.healthline.com/health/parenting/spanking-pros-and-cons

https://prosancons.com/human/pros-and-cons-of-spanking/