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Your Views on Discipline Poll

889 Views 5 Votes 13 Comments

When it comes to disciplining children, there are several views that people tend to have. Some people won’t spank their children at all, in any circumstance. Others will paddle their children, but only if the child has done something that needs harsh discipline. Still others will spank or slap their kids for the smallest of infractions.

An often misquoted saying that is commonly used is, “Spare the rod and spoil the child.” This saying is usually attributed to the Bible, but that isn’t what the Bible actually says. The reference is to Proverb 13:24, which actually says, “He who spares the rod hates his son,but he who loves him disciplines him diligently.“

From this scripture, it sounds like Solomon was advocating spanking children, though it is often interpreted in different ways.

How do you feel about the question of spanking children that are misbehaving?

  • Question of

    If your child is throwing a tantrum or has been doing something wrong, even after being warned, how do you or would you respond?

    • Depending on where I’m at, I might give him or her a swat on the hind end.
    • I don’t feel that there’s anything wrong with spanking, but the punishment needs to fit the crime.
    • I won’t spank a child, no matter what.
    • I’d probably punish the child by taking something away, putting them in a corner, scolding, or something else that didn’t involve spanking.
  • Question of

    If you are in a store and a child is misbehaving, yelling, having a tantrum, or is engaged in similar behavior and the parent does nothing to stop it, how do you feel?

    • It doesn’t bother me at all
    • It bothers me a lot
    • I feel that the parent should remove the child from the store until they are under control
    • If the parent does nothing about it, the parent is the one who should be punished
  • Question of

    When you were growing up, if you did something that you knew was very wrong, what did your parents do?

    • I’d get spanked, scolded, grounded, or put in a corner, depending on what I’d done
    • My parents wouldn’t do anything
    • My parents would beat me
  • Question of

    Do you think that kids often don’t get enough discipline from their parents?

    • Yes
    • No
    • Other

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What do you think?

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Childrendisciplinedisobediencepunishmentspanking

Written by Rex Trulove

13 Comments

  1. I think spanking is needed but I always stress that it must not be a way of venting or out of extreme anger…
    clear rules should be stated and the child knows that consequences of his actions.

    I realised that many child knows how to get away from punishments. I’ve a very spoiled cousin so yeah…

    1

    • I agree. A child should never be punished while the adult is angry. Children are really good at manipulation, but punishments need to be consistent and thought out. If a parent is angry, they are thinking of themselves and not of the child, they aren’t considering the punishment, and they are too apt to go overboard.

  2. I read an article on the internet that states that parents that do not punish children without harming them but let them run free will lead to a child who when he or she becomes an adult to behave in a very bad way.
    I have a nephew with special needs and his parents do discipline him without extreme measures to make go to the bathroom when he should have do it earlier without soiling his underwear.
    I also remember a D C Comics book around the 1970s when a child asked Superman if his dad had a right to discipline him. Superman replied that the dad has a right to spank his child on the bottom but never harm a child.

    1

    • That is a really good way to go about it. When my own kids were little, there were times when a correct could and was no more than a harsh word or disappointed tone of voice. Other times, stricter measures had to be taken. In all cases, I did my best to make sure the kids knew why they were being punished and that I loved them, even when I had to punish them.

      Of course, I’m also a firm believer in rewarding good behavior, too.

  3. If children grow up with no discipline they can hurt themselves and others, so parents should save hitting as a very last resort, but if a child is completely out of control, playing with fire, for example, you have to do whatever you have to do to keep them from burning the house down with them in it. You can’t stand by idly while your child hurts another child or tortures an animal.

    1

    • I agree with you, yet there are many parents that allow their kids to do virtually anything they want to do. Many societal problems can probably be traced to that one thing.

      1

    • That is an excellent point. A punishment that works for a three-year-old will rarely work with a teenager. My personal opinion is also that children shouldn’t be punished while the parent is angry.

  6. Great topic Rex! I am not saying that spanking is wrong, but I think that taking something important away from a child would help the child think about not doing it again.

    1