'Time out' is also a popular deterrent. Some parents don't impliment any other punishment but hitting. They haul off and smack/hit the child before they even think sometimes. I was NEVER a naughty child and neither were my sisters. We were quiet, and we never fought, honestly our mother was blessed but she still found things to punish us for. I know you are in the education system Paula and you must see the full scale of behaviour, good and bad. I have seen children get beaten at the shopping centres. I had to hold my then 17 year old daughter back once from hitting a man at the shops who was beating his tot. She verbally told him off instead. I was taught in family life classes that the hand of a parent should never be used to harm/hit/punish, it is to show children love, with a touch, a hug, a pat. I know there must be absolutely dreadful children out there whose behaviour would seemingly deserve a good throttling but violence only begets a mindset that violence is acceptable. Regarding the debate in the news though. If smacking your children was banned.... how would those in power police it and what is to stop a child reporting being 'smacked' when they haven't. Can't be done IMHO.

Quoted from SuziH

Take away their Game Boy, Cinema outings, pocket money, TV, make-up for a couple of weeks or a month before resorting to smacking. If the child is too young for those things, tie up the swing, ban them from their favourite toys or treats, anything. That's my opinion from my experience. Cheers all.

Good idea, and I would add mobile phone, telephone usage, internet access, PSP, iPod to the list.

Smocking is not violence.

I really hate today's kids, they thought they were very smart. They are good at false accusing people and hence ruin other adults' lives. Today's kids are just too evil. They know they won't get punished seriously because laws were on their side.

A real case: an underage boy set up a bush fire in NSW few years ago. His punishment? Merely a few thousand dollars fine and he said he was sorry.  Too bad for families losing all their lives' savings and memories. That is NSW's justice. The law system is simply telling all youngsters a message: you can burn down other people's house for just a few thousand dollars.

Smocking is not violence - of cause it isn't  Smoking in a public place is thou

Smacking to the degree of Physical assault is. If i was to smack you thats assault, a child is no different just cause they are younger means nothing.  However, Police and FaCTS realize that a smack on the bum is sometimes nessasary so they allow it providing it doesnt physically harm a kid or leave welts or above the shoulder.

Quoted Text

I really hate today's kids

Depends what kids you mean. If you mean those kids that pop up on Today Tonight, then I'll give you that. If you mean people like me, then we're just plain old pricks. The Year 8s and 9 are pretty annoying and stupid though.

Quoted from dara

smacking could lead to much worse. i voted no. parents should try other methods before resorting to violence because that's what it is, no matter how soft. it encourages them to smack their friends if they fight.

Where have you been for the last 50 years dara, “it encourages them to smack their friends in a fight???”  If their going to fight, it's not going to be harsh language or a 10 page essay on 'how you feel towards the other person’ girls pull hair and scratch, boys punch, honestly between the government and the yuppies thinking flower power will discipline your kids, no wonder half the crap’s happening with the youth these days, suzi I do feel sorry for you, as I said before some parents do go overboard in smacking. But discipline you kids by talking etc.

Example of teen’s these day’s, and I do not mean all of them, but the way society is trying to mould parents and stating that BS ‘ smacking is abuse / violence ‘. A friend of ours has a teen daughter, rebelled at school, because teachers have just about zero power these day’s, throwing a chair at the teacher and nearly hitting him, she knew the worst would be suspension, WOW really telling the kid there, rebelled at home because the school informed the mother about what happened, at the heat of the argument the mother told her to get out of her sight, meaning get out the house, the daughter turned around and told her to go jump, the mother went to grab her by the arm, to get her out the house and the daughter turned and said ‘ Don’t you touch me, don’t you dare touch me, you touch me and I’ll have your a** in jail. She is 11 years old, all because of yuppies and government stepping in telling you how to raise your kid, the kids learn and play on that as a bluff over the parent(s). They have no respect for adults. If I had said that to my mother or father I would have gotten the belt across the butt, yes I got hit with my fathers belt, when I played up and was a little s**t and went overboard, for anyone to say they are / were perfect as a kid is BS.

I say instead of suspension, bring the cane back, 6 of the best across the butt or hand and then back to class. Becha they think twice about mouthing off again plus they don’t get a holiday at home from suspension and loose out on education. I agree that there are other methods of action with kids, but taking smacking away all together is making matters worse not better.

Yes it would be nice to live in a perfect world where we didn’t have to discipline our kids or there was no disease or famine, there was no upper, middle or lower class and everybody had happy happy joy joy feelings towards one another But unfortunately that is not reality, or the world we live in.

I don't think its okay, because parents are reacting out of fear and anger.  Its a loss of control on the parent's behalf.  You teach your children that using violence when you are angry is appropriate, because that's when they see YOU doing it to them.  

There are other ways to deal with naughty children.  Lordy, look at the nanny programs on television at the moment, and see the results that they get from using alternatives, such as 'the naughty chair/spot'.  Far more effective in dealing with bad behaviour.

The problem is that most parents are too lazy to learn some basics about human behaviour and alternative techniques.  I think some people are using their children as pay back for their own miserable childhood, too.  "Good enough for me, good enough for them."

Quoted from Jodes

I don't think its okay, because parents are reacting out of fear and anger.  Its a loss of control on the parent's behalf.  You teach your children that using violence when you are angry is appropriate, because that's when they see YOU doing it to them.

Who says parents are reacting out of fear and anger when smacking? Loosing control   To say that every parent that smacks there kid on the bum is red faced in a total rage is just plain dumb,I agree that there are some parents that do that and to say that dosent happen is just stupidity, quoting the nanny program, please, it�s a TV show. You see what they want you to see.

Quoted from marvin

Where have you been for the last 50 years dara,

For a start if you paid any attention Dara ain’t  20 yet alone 50

Dara has a point from her generation - to display your generational belief on her is not only unfair but misguided.

That’s like saying just cause your parents walked to school bare foot and trudged thru 6 feet of snow doesn't mean the next generation has to also.

Furthermore , your comment  "They have no respect for adults"  is way out of left field  that’s how you see it. I see you used examples of "other " peoples kids I’m assuming you do that cause you have not raised them yourself.  Respect is earnt  its not a right - if you respect your children and remember your own experiences of growing up days .. then you will respect kids for being well just that kids.

No amount of canning is going to stop a rebellious kid -  just as you cannot stop a child from opening up the cupboard when you tell them not too - life’s lessons are learnt from experience not from over zealous parents.

Above all else don't make the mistake of trying to undo your life and live it thru your own children

My father beat my mother, my younger brother and myself 4 most of my life. I now have a child of my own, whom i have never laid a hand on his life...nor will ever.
I have lived the horror of secret abuse and i would not wish it on my worst enemy.
A child must feel safe and protected by their parents, hitting your child will not only hurt them physically, but, the emotional scares will live on 4ever. You mend the wounds but the scars are always there, waiting to rear its ugly head in the form of a panic attack or worse.
Please dont hit your children...

Quoted from kat24

My father beat my mother, my younger brother and myself 4 most of my life. I now have a child of my own, whom i have never laid a hand on his life...nor will ever.
I have lived the horror of secret abuse and i would not wish it on my worst enemy.
A child must feel safe and protected by their parents, hitting your child will not hurt them physically but the emotional scares will live on 4ever. You mend the wounds but the scars are always there, waiting to rear its ugly head in the form of a panic attack or worse.
Please dont hit your children...

Hear Hear!

I work with children and in my opinion parents whom smack their children are plain lazy! Use your brains ... they're your children... what do you give them the right to enjoy (with your money) when they're good??? Think... ok, now take it away when their bad! pffft.. how hard was that?

Another reason too that smacking needs to be banned is to work with those whom are there trying to educate your children. We don't have the right to use physical violence to maintain children's behaviour (as we all did 'back in the day'.. well, not my day :p) now times that by 24!! They need to know that there are other ways that bad behaviour is dealt with and that these consequences are serious business! For instance - at kindy if they can not play appropriately in home corner = the right to enjoy home corner is taken away for that indoor period of time. At home - if they can not speak to you as an adult in an appropriate manor the right to enjoy friends visiting/tv privileges/a certain toy etc... is taken away. Other than this there are SO many ways around sufficiently dealing with inappropriate behaviour - they just take reinforcing and time.

If parents actually didn't except the behaviour as 'being a child of today?!' and stopped the laziness (a whole other issue) there wouldn't be children back chatting with no fear until a 'smack' were threatened.

...Of course I'm not talking about all parents some are too brilliant for words but there is too those who really need to step it up!

Oh Allycat, how narrow minded you are


QUOTE ”Furthermore , your comment  "They have no respect for adults"  is way out of left feild  thats how you see it. I see you used examples of "other " peoples kids i'm assuming you do that cause you have not raised them yourself.”

The example I used is with a very close friend of ours who we care about a lot, my point with that was not with the parent raising the child but with everyone else telling you how to raise your kid, I don’t care if I raised them myself or not, I have 4 of my own to worry about. I think you are confusing the issue with child abuse.

My final opinion is :

Should kids get a smack for going overboard = ‘Yes”  basic discipline
Should kids get pulverized into the ground for doing something wrong = “No” that’s abuse

Quoted from marvin

Should kids get pulverized into the ground for doing something wrong = No, that's abuse

...and she's the narrow minded one?  'pulverized into the ground' .. what a lovely way to define abuse!


EDIT –

I've experienced it, seen it occur, heard stories, read about it and been educated on it... smacking is the lowest form of abuse - a light tap is nothing right? However, If we say that smacking is an appropriate form of discipline who is it that decides what is an appropriate smack – what do we do with these requirements?

Ok so, we have a large red handprint the next day it appears with only slight yellow/purple toning BUT - it occurred from ‘just a smack’!? That would’ve been one slightly hard smack but you wouldn’t have known how hard it was until it was implemented - is that okay? So how do we define how hard it is to smack? Not everybody has the common sense to ‘just know’. So, how hard are we allowed to smack?

Then we have the problem of where is the smack allowed? ... I use to be smacked around the ear… almost lost my hearing BUT it was ‘just a smack’..?

Any form of physical violence is abuse.

Quoted from marvin

Oh Allycat, how narrow minded you are


I think you are confusing the issue with child abuse.

My final opinion is :

Should kids get a smack for going overboard = ?Yes?  basic discipline
Should kids get pulverized into the ground for doing something wrong = ?No? that?s abuse

Narrow minded  btw it Alleycat  

Omg what a poor response  ill give you narrow mindness on a grand scale.

Recieving a 000 call to attend an address reported with a Child in distress,

attending such address finding one small child aged at 4 with extensive contusions about the upper left quadrant and a collapsed lung with 5 possible fractured ribs and a ruptured spleen internal bleeding as indicated with guarding of the diaphram region, extensive contusions to the face and head with large welts in the lower extremities and indications of finger marks left by said parent.

So don't tell me that smacking a child is not abuse in any form this is only 1 of a number of cases I have attended. so get of your soap box  when you have faced the aftermath of a smack that has gone horribly wrong then you can call me narrowminded.

BTW the child expired from her injuries

Wake up and smell the roses - what right do you have to call me narrowminded