Do you support corporal punishment of children?

[MasterJedi]

I voted unsure because normally it would be no. You'd have to do something really bad to have me want you to have corporal punishment enforced.

[© tweed]

No, because it raises the question of where to draw the line between punishment and assault.

[KEmperor]

According to the relevant research, children who receive physical punishment become more deviant and angry.  Most children who are physically punished do not, however, become violent criminals. 
Studies have also shown that sons who have been punished physically are more likely to have a criminal record. 

A few studies suggest, however, that when used appropriately, spanking makes small children less likely to fight with others and more likely to obey their parents.  Other studies fail to distinguish between a minor spank and serious physical punishment.

Corporal punishment is most likely to have a detrimental effect if the intention is to cause pain instead of to modify behavior.  If corporal punishment is used as an occasional backup to other non-violent methods such as stern language and denial of privileges, it is less likely to cause harm. 

Also, if such punishment is done in private instead of in public, it removed the harm of humiliation.  Parents who overspank should scale back.  Children under two years of age should not be spanked due to the danger of physical damage.  Spanking is most effective on children between the ages of two and six.

[Giant Saguaro]

I honestly don't think a smack on the rear end ever hurt anybody, really. Beating and all that? No. But a smack across the back end when a kid knows he has done wrong or it has been explained to him why he's getting a smack I don't have problem with at all.

[Ebowed]

I honestly don't think a smack on the rear end ever hurt anybody, really.

The emotional pain of being smacked on the ass without being told what was done wrong is quite bad for a child.  Many parents who spank don't tell the child what they did wrong, they just yell and spank without calmly and carefully explaining what was done wrong.  And then of course there are parents who use belts, wooden spoons, or even worse.  I was reared in a home were corporal punishment was used and it's not worth it.

[Virginian87]

I disagree.  If a child misbehaves, it is important for the child to associate misbehavior with punishment.  In my opinion, physical punishment such as spanking is much more effective than giving kids a time-out or sending them to their room. It's the degree and frequency of this punishment that may hurt kids emotionally, i.e. parents should not abuse this.  I was smacked for misbehaving as a kid and I turned out OK. 

[Giant Saguaro]

I honestly don't think a smack on the rear end ever hurt anybody, really.

The emotional pain of being smacked on the ass without being told what was done wrong is quite bad for a child.  Many parents who spank don't tell the child what they did wrong, they just yell and spank without calmly and carefully explaining what was done wrong.  And then of course there are parents who use belts, wooden spoons, or even worse.  I was reared in a home were corporal punishment was used and it's not worth it.

See, I had a different experience. I and my friends were raised in homes were smacks or cracks or whatever you want to call it were rare but for good reason and it didn't hurt any of us one iota. On the converse, there's a guy I know who - they did a lot of yelling and threatening and cursing and all that with their son but never meant one word of any of it. I mean some of it was quite outrageous and at times comical, but they never touched him or did a thing and as soon as he figured out that they didn't mean one word of any of it he ran amok almost overnight. Started doing stuff to embarrass them and all this sort of thing - they had a real time for a while with him.

[John Dibble]

I honestly don't think a smack on the rear end ever hurt anybody, really.

The emotional pain of being smacked on the ass without being told what was done wrong is quite bad for a child.  Many parents who spank don't tell the child what they did wrong, they just yell and spank without calmly and carefully explaining what was done wrong.  And then of course there are parents who use belts, wooden spoons, or even worse.  I was reared in a home were corporal punishment was used and it's not worth it.

That's more of an argument against not explaining to the child why they are being punished than against corporal punishment. I definitely agree that if they child doesn't understand what they are being punished for they won't learn anything, though. Like I said earlier, I think it's preferable for it to be reserved for only the worst bits of misbehavior(use it too often and they don't fear it as much because they are used to it) and only with the hand.

[Gabu]

If a child misbehaves, it is important for the child to associate misbehavior with punishment.

I would agree, but here's where my comment regarding explaining the reason for the punishment to the child: if the child honestly does not think that he or she did anything wrong, then the child will perceive corporal punishment as simply an evil parent abusing his or her child, rather than as a just punishment for misbehavior.  Effective communication is by far and away the most important thing a parent can do with their child.  Everything else in the parent-child relationship only works when communication happens.

[Ebowed]

John, how exactly would you be able to regulate corporate punishment so that parents who explain to their child what was done wrong can use it but parents who don't can't?

[Jens]

Corporal punishment doesn't solve anything. As a parent you are the stronger part and should under no circumstances use violence as a mean to control your children. Corporal punishment are too often used when the parent, not the child, loses his or her temper and has too high a degree of randomness and is quite often disproportional to the action of the child.
It has been a crime to hit your children since 1997 in Denmark

[John Dibble]

John, how exactly would you be able to regulate corporate punishment so that parents who explain to their child what was done wrong can use it but parents who don't can't?

Regulate? I never said I would regulate it, where ever did you get that idea? Unfortunately, you can't regulate effective parenting. The logic applies to non-corporal punishment as well - if the child doesn't understand why he is being punished, as Gabu said they'll simply view the punishment as unfair no matter what that punishment is. The only regulations I would put on corporal punishment is to keep it from going too far.

[??????????]

Corporal punishment doesn't solve anything. As a parent you are the stronger part and should under no circumstances use violence as a mean to control your children. Corporal punishment are too often used when the parent, not the child, loses his or her temper and has too high a degree of randomness and is quite often disproportional to the action of the child.
It has been a crime to hit your children since 1997 in Denmark

Even a swat on the butt is illegal?

[Hitchabrut]

Yes, in moderation and practiced by sane parents.

[© tweed]

Yes, in moderation and practiced by sane parents.

but that's the thing, those two will not always apply and thus the risk of a child being injured can be high in certain circumstances.