TO SMACK OR NOT TO SMACK
Published: 10/01/2012 by KRISTEN HOBBY
TO SMACK
Kath is a single Mum with two young boys 4 and 7. She tries hard to instil discipline and boundaries for her boys but with no one else to back her up, she struggles.
She tries to enforce rewards for good behaviour and has some strategies for bad behaviour such as a naughty spot and taking away their toys for a period of time but life is busy and hectic and sometimes she will smack her children.
She was smacked by her parents growing up, not all the time but when her behaviour was pretty bad. She will admit that she didn’t like it but that it was generally justified and didn’t do her any harm. She sees older children belonging to her friends and families and worries that there seems to be a lack of accountability and that they seem to get everything without having to work hard.
She thinks the occasional smack is one way to help instil a sense of respect for older people and themselves. She remembers also a time when teachers were able to smack children in the classroom but is glad that that is no longer the case. She looks around at other mothers she knows and sees that they smack sometimes too.
NOT TO SMACK
Shelly is married with two young children, a boy (5) and a girl (7). She too was hit as a child and can remember being hit over the knuckles with a wooden ruler by her grade 3 teacher
She even remembers an incident when she was strapped with a leather belt by her father.
She doesn’t like to hit her own children. Shelly believes that violence just creates more violence and that children that are hit, grow up thinking that the way to solve problems is to hit. She recognizes that hitting is more about her own temper than enforcing discipline.
She uses a range of strategies such as the naughty spot and rewards and punishments. If she feels herself losing her cool, she knows the best course of action is to walk away and take some deep breathes.
Shelly is quite surprised by the number of her friends who do hit their children.
Who do you agree most strongly with?
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