What are your thoughts on smacking children?

Does violence breed violence?

Were you smacked as a child?

Should it be classed as assault on a child if they are smacked?

Do you think discipline has disappeared in schools since the banning of punishment.

Do you agree with the saying "spare the rod, spoil the child"? 

I guess it depends on the nature of the smack, but generally I would say that children learn by our actions. If you smack them, they may learn that violence is OK in certain circumstances, when the only valid circumstance is imminent self-defence. Instead of teaching them to fear the consequences (e.g. getting beat up for a wrongdoing), nurture understanding of their actions by compassion and respect. The only thing that children need is love

I was smacked for misbehaving as a child, I'm not a violent person, I do believe that of a child is brought up around violence  it will impact them later in life, decipline is seen in different ways.

However when I have children if they are to misbehave then yes I will smack them if I see fit.

I was smacked for misbehaving as a child, I'm not a violent person, I do believe that of a child is brought up around violence  it will impact them later in life, decipline is seen in different ways.

However when I have children if they are to misbehave then yes I will smack them if I see fit.

Basically this was exactly what I was going to say lol.

I think the punishment should fit the crime.
If a child is just yelling or throwing a tantrum, don't hit them.
However, if a child is hitting someone else, they need to understand that that hurts, so they should be hit (hard enough to give a light sting, not to injure).

Violence doesn't breed violence if you do it correctly. If you overdo it, then yeah they'll be a violent person. But a light smack won't make your child go out murdering people.

I was spanked as a child, and for things like hitting I'd stop because it hurt, and for things like lying I just got better at it because I didn't relate the pain from lying to the pain from being hit.

It should be assault if they overdo the hitting/smacking, or if it's out of proportion the misbehavior of the child.

Discipline in my school is based on what level of class you're taking. If you're taking a higher level class like honors or AP, there's more discipline and people are better behaved. This is because teachers don't care about the lower level classes because those kids won't try anyway, or at least act like they won't so people don't care about them.

No, I don't agree with "spare the rod, spoil the child." I know plenty of people who weren't hit and are wonderful people, and I know kids who were hit and are terrible people. That statement makes a generalization with no backup

I was chased by my mum with a wooden spoon around the house many of times when I was a child :')

Honestly, I think it helped to know that there was a punishment that you know would make an impact rather than making you sit in your room for the night, because that literally teaches you nothing in my opinion.

Maybe it is because I've grown up now, but I see so many kids now misbehaving compared to about 10-15 years ago. Like there are 10 and 11 year olds getting arrested these days lol.

I don't believe it makes anyone violent to be punished by being smacked because our parents used to get the cane at school and hardly any became violent

Eh, they're kids..I don't think they should get smacked. I've never been smacked myself.

sounds like a no

I was smacked when I was a child and I believe that I've grown up to be a better adult than a lot of the kids you see nowadays are going to grow up to be.

Lack of discipline seems to be a huge problem with children now and it's obvious when you look anywhere really. Kids doing drugs, getting arrested etc. I'm not saying that this didn't happen previously but it was certainly a lot less common when I was younger.

If my daughter ever does anything bad enough to deserve it I think I probably would smack her as a punishment but thankfully I've never had to yet.

I was smacked when I was a child and I believe that I've grown up to be a better adult than a lot of the kids you see nowadays are going to grow up to be.

Lack of discipline seems to be a huge problem with children now and it's obvious when you look anywhere really. Kids doing drugs, getting arrested etc. I'm not saying that this didn't happen previously but it was certainly a lot less common when I was younger.

If my daughter ever does anything bad enough to deserve it I think I probably would smack her as a punishment but thankfully I've never had to yet.

Hey, I never got smacked by my parents and look at me now: I don't do drugs, I don't drink alcohol, I never got arrested,... The fact that you did not get smacked from time to time doesn't mean that you lack of discipline I get your point though. :-)

What are your thoughts on smacking children?

Does violence breed violence?  Yes and no.  I don't think a violent act will impact a child, but if they're around a violent person, absolutely.

Were you smacked as a child?  Yes and no.  Very rarely, from ages upto 7 or 8 I'd say? not hard, just a sting as a punishment if I did something REAL bad.

Should it be classed as assault on a child if they are smacked? I find it's a grey area.  It both builds maturity, and respect.  But at high frequency, it builds a violent child. 

Do you think discipline has disappeared in schools since the banning of punishment?  Yes/No.  I feel punishment should be in place, but not physical.  Physical assault is something a parent of a child should decide, not a teacher/school board.  But at the same time, there needs to be better punishments.

I once ahd a talk with my professor, on why they didn't teach high school, she said that there were so many kids being dicks, and she couldn't do anything about it.  The school board wouldn't allow you to send a child to the office, to confiscate their phone, or anything else.  By doing that, it's at the cost of their education, and privacy??? It was/is bullshit.  Having recently graduated, it's brutal.  Soooooo many students don't listen, or respect, or even have the maturity to function with a group of people outside of school (work environments, mainly).

Do you agree with the saying "spare the rod, spoil the child"?  Never heard it :o

I guess that depends on if you're smacking your child or someone else's..

I think it's okay to smack your own child as long as it's not excessive or too hard so that you're beating the crap out of them and leaving bruises.

I once ahd a talk with my professor, on why they didn't teach high school, she said that there were so many kids being dicks, and she couldn't do anything about it.  The school board wouldn't allow you to send a child to the office, to confiscate their phone, or anything else.  By doing that, it's at the cost of their education, and privacy??? It was/is bullshit.  Having recently graduated, it's brutal.  Soooooo many students don't listen, or respect, or even have the maturity to function with a group of people outside of school (work environments, mainly).

If the school board won't allow the confiscation of mobile phones then it's not really a school. You need discipline to maintain order, without order there is chaos. We live in a world where kids think it's badass to be on their phones in class, hidden under the table or from inside their pocket. How is a school meant to function if that's what kids are "allowed" to do?

My school wasn't like that. Mobile phones were confiscated on sight and troublemakers would be suspended from school. I guess it all depends on the school you're applying for.