Have you ever spanked your child?

[AM]

As someone who is completely against spanking/smacking, I have, very unfortunately, spanked/smacked my older son when he hurt my baby son. Yes, i know the logic stinks!! :shame:
I'm completely mortified at myself for it, but I'm interested in how many other parents have been in this situation.
It is just so horrible, to know how much I dislike spanking/smacking, and to know I have done it.

[mumof three]

That is exactly the scenario that made me smack dd1 for the first time. They were in the car, and she was pinching and scratching infant dd2 on the face, and wouldn't stop. OOOH i felt so mad:mad: , so I smacked her hand, and then I felt absolutely awful:crying: .

I would like to say it is the only time, but sadly we've had many smacks along the way. I guess I have road-tested many, many forms of discipline, and smacking is one of them. But I have always felt uncomfortable with it. It feels wrong to me. I am embarrassed that I have used it as much as I have. DD1 is a MAJOR boundary-tester, and is a very passionate child. I wonder where she gets it from :o ).

I am happy to say, that we have now eliminated smacking from our repetoire. I have a smorgabord of other disciplinary techniques that I use, including time-out, a reward system of "stars" (that can also be taken away), time-limits, separation/isolation, and what I would call "tantrum-surfing" for extreme circumstances. DD1 has experienced only one smack in the last 8 months (i still feel bad about that one, and hope it will be th last). DD2 has experienced only one in her whole life (a few years ago now - I might add that she is a very different character). I hope that DS3 will never experience it.:yelclap:

[Ana Gram]

Now this is where it gets confusing. Yes I have smacked my child but i haven't spanked her. To me spanking is smacking repeatedly.

[AM]

to me spanking and smacking are words for the same thing, ie/ being physically punitive, one spank/smack is the same thing to me.

that's just my take on it, and is what I am meaning, I might have it wrong though...

Just googled it, and seems the two words are the same, 'to strike with an open hand' etc, nothing mentioned about repeatedly...

[Little Gorilla]

Now this is where it gets confusing. Yes I have smacked my child but i haven't spanked her. To me spanking is smacking repeatedly.

yeah when I hear "spanking" I think repeatedly smacking. So I supose, one "smack" = one "spank" :confused:

I have given my child some smacks...and to confuse everyone..I suppose I would call it more "taps" :rolleyes:

I have stopped doing it (probably did it about 8 times) - because firstly it was making me feel like **** afterwards I felt sooooo guilt and secondly because it was not getting any message through to my son that what he had done was naughty.

Before I had a child I was totally against any type of physical punishment of a child....however that changed once I had my son and I don't feel very good about myself for doing it.

[mumof three]

I was thinking about smacking and spanking as the same thing - i.e. a smack (or more than one) in the heat of the moment for naughty behaviour.

I guess one interpretation of "spanking" is the old fashioned "I'll put you over my knee when we get home" - and dishing out a "spanking" sometime after the event, as a punishment, "go and fetch my belt jimmy...". :eek: :shame:

I've never done this, nor do I know any parents who have.:thumbsdown:

It sounds as though we are all talking about smacking (even if apprenticemomma used the word spanking for the poll).

[Ana Gram]

I guess one interpretation of "spanking" is the old fashioned "I'll put you over my knee when we get home" - and dishing out a "spanking" sometime after the event, as a punishment, "go and fetch my belt jimmy...". :eek: :shame:



Yes, this is exactly what I think of when I hear the word spanking despite knowing the dictionary meaning for it..

[natasha]

I think spank and smack are 2 very different things. Yes i have smacked/tapped dd(twice), no i have not spanked her ever.

A smack is a tap on the bottom/hand.....a spanking is putting them across your knee or repeatedly smacking them. That is how i and all my family have always seen it.

[mum2bubba]

I have smacked Hayley a couple of times but only after other forms of discipline have failed. I do not like smacking but at times its needed (a smack is a light tap on the hand)