Is physical punishment for children acceptable?

[Edward lV]

I personaly dont think it ever is but other people do. My problem is what happens when parents go too far? It could start as a slap on the arse, but then a slap could lead to a push, a push to a punch... you get the picture. No-one should be hurt as punishment. If the police started handing out beatings people would have something to say about it, why are children any different?

[Barry Goldwater]

Depends...

A good spanking? Of course, when I was a kid my dad or mom would spank me if I was being a prick and I haven't suffered any long-lasting mental trauma.

But beating your boy/girl to an inch of their life? Obviously not.

[CtrlAltDe1337]

Depends...

A good spanking? Of course, when I was a kid my dad or mom would spank me if I was being a prick and I haven't suffered any long-lasting mental trauma.

But beating your boy/girl to an inch of their life? Obviously not.

Agreed.

[Alkarin]

well think of it this way.

Hitler and Stalin were beat as children.

[Gromovnik]

well think of it this way.

Hitler and Stalin were beat as children.

Anonymous was also regularly beaten.

[chriscase]

Wow, post #2 this time. It doesn't usually take long before the personal testimony shows up, but I think that's a record.

[razor-]

Yes, I was myself slapped on a few occasions in my childhood. The knowledge that my mother was capable of doing that kept me obedient and I believe it saved a lot of time and bad mood in not constantly being told verbally what not to do.

[Alkarin]

Yes, I was myself slapped on a few occasions in my childhood. The knowledge that my mother was capable of doing that kept me obedient and I believe it saved a lot of time and bad mood in not constantly being told verbally what not to do.

yea i believe the threat alone of being slapped is good for obedience. whenever I was visiting my dad for weeks at a time if i was doing something wrong id be threatened with being hit. I never was of course. but that was because i had the intelligence to stop Also beating a child is not prohibited.

[A pimp named Slickback]

Both kids and unruly women need physical punishment.

[Trey]

I personaly dont think it ever is but other people do. My problem is what happens when parents go too far? It could start as a slap on the arse, but then a slap could lead to a push, a push to a punch... you get the picture. No-one should be hurt as punishment. If the police started handing out beatings people would have something to say about it, why are children any different?

What a load of bull. Sure there are people who abuse their kids, but it's not because they thought spanking was ok, then were led astray. Spanking isn't about inflicting pain, it's symbolic.

[boofhead]

Yes, a smack is okay for little ones. And I daresay for a recalcitrant teenage little a good wallop over the ear or kick up the arse may sometimes be warranted, also.

[Trey]

Yes, a smack is okay for little ones. And I daresay for a recalcitrant teenage little a good wallop over the ear or kick up the arse may sometimes be warranted, also.

What about a backhand into the dirt?

[boofhead]

What about a backhand into the dirt?

Definitely, if it's warranted.

e.g. if a teenager hit his mother or spat on her in the presence of his father, he deserves far worse than that. He deserves a man-quality beating.

[MaximiIian]

Physical punishment is acceptable, yes.
Mind, physical abuse is an entirely different matter.

[Barry Goldwater]

Wow, post #2 this time. It doesn't usually take long before the personal testimony shows up, but I think that's a record.

And what's the problem? I also said physical punishment is acceptable but abuse is not in that same post.

[chriscase]

And what's the problem? I also said physical punishment is acceptable but abuse is not in that same post.

The problem is that personal testimony in support of your conclusion is not believable and in poor form.

It's not believable, because:
1) We only have your word that anyone has ever hit you, much less your parents.
2) We only have your word that you aren't an utterly damaged human being.

It's poor form, because it brings your person into the substance of the debate, which is an explicit exception to ad hominem, making it logically acceptable to attack your person in the course of attacking your argument. Yet the TOS of this board do not recognize the exception, making it an unapproachable - but clearly fallacious - position.

The only way I would consider your personal testimony remotely believable would be if it actually contradicted the conclusion you are advocating, in which case it would simply be extraneous.

[Barry Goldwater]

The problem is that personal testimony in support of your conclusion is not believable and in poor form.

It's not believable, because:
1) We only have your word that anyone has ever hit you, much less your parents.
2) We only have your word that you aren't an utterly damaged human being.

It's poor form, because it brings your person into the substance of the debate, which is an explicit exception to ad hominem, making it logically acceptable to attack your person in the course of attacking your argument. Yet the TOS of this board do not recognize the exception, making it an unapproachable - but clearly fallacious - position.

The only way I would consider your personal testimony remotely believable would be if it actually contradicted the conclusion you are advocating, in which case it would simply be extraneous.

Alright, fair enough...personal anecdotes don't make for good arguments, I can agree with that

But my real point - that physical punishment is fine, abuse is obviously not - still stands.

[chriscase]

Alright, fair enough...personal anecdotes don't make for good arguments, I can agree with that

But my real point - that physical punishment is fine, abuse is obviously not - still stands.

Ok, but that's not really a point. It's just a statement of your position. You haven't made any credible argument in favor of it.

The vast majority of people in the world were spanked as children. And most people in the world are not psycho.

Don't ask for sources. It's just true.

Resorting to your own authority? I will even say maybe a lot of people have been raised with some form of corporal punishment. That does not mean it's appropriate now - if it ever was. And we don't have to say that spanking reliably makes everyone "psycho" to condemn it. It's sufficient that it makes certain negative behaviors more likely. Which it does.

[Desperado †]

But my real point - that physical punishment is fine, abuse is obviously not - still stands.

Draw a clear cut distinction between the two, please.

[AlSeeByeAhDeeze]

Physical punishment is acceptable, yes.
Mind, physical abuse is an entirely different matter.

the winner.

I was spanked as a child, however, i was never 'beaten' in the modern sense. My parents never strayed beyond the boundaries of punishment and quite honestly i was better off then and now than my friends who were never physically punished.