Smacking Children

Does Spanking Children Teach Them Anything?

Smacking children means different things to different people.

If you occasionally give a short sharp slap to get you child’s attention when they are doing something dangerous or hurtful, then you probably aren’t doing your child any lasting harm.

If you have a belt or wooden spoon you use on your child, or if you slap them more than once in succession, you may want to think again.

The Argument to Smack or Not to Smack

It was once commonplace to use physical punishment as part of child discipline.

Primarily this meant using a hand or objects to smack, hit, beat, belt, whip, or thrash a child.

• Research says that children are generally so upset by being smacked that they don’t remember why it has happened. If they don’t learn from it then the chances are they will just do it again.
• Research also shows that parents admit to only doing it when they are angry, not calm and in control.
• Research shows that children become very good at hiding things from their parents in order to avoid a beating instead of learning not to do it at all.
• Some parents believe they will “spoil” their child if they do not use physical discipline, or that it is the only way to teach their child to respect them.
• Some parents say that their own parents smacked them and it did no harm.
• Some parents lose control and lash out without any real thought to what they are doing.

So does smacking children discipline the child or give the parent short term relief?

Some parents really don’t know what else to do.

Learn what to do instead of smacking children here...

Or take a free trial of James Lehman's Total Transformation® program and learn new ways to change your child's behavior.

James Lehman is a highly qualified and very well respected authority on child behavior and counseling.

He's lived life from both ends of the argument, having been a defiant child himself.

After years of study and hands-on work with defiant kids, I seriously doubt there's anyone more qualified to give advice on turning around a child's behavior.

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