My father believed in spanking; I don’t, and my sisters don’t, and there is a correlation.
I was reading the syndicated column by Dr. T. Berry Brazelton, Family Matters. The title of one of his “Family Matters” columns in early December 2008 was “Spanking is not necessary, can be harmful”. He had expressed that opinion before and that didn’t surprise me.
What I DID find jaw-dropping, though, was this paragraph:
“Many parents who were spanked as children tell us that they do not remember why they were spanked, or what they learned, but that they sure do remember being spanked, how it felt and how angry they were. Many remember feeling less trusting of their
parents’ authority and wisdom when physical force was used against them.”
Not a month before that, I had asked both of my sisters if they remembered WHY we were spanked, and except for one particular incident – my worst spanking, and I wasn’t even guilty of an infraction – none of us had ANY idea. Even the baby sister, who seems to remember everything fromk our past, can’t remember WHY.
HOW we remember. the length of the strap, and its location in the kitchen. Often we were expected to get the strap, and failure to do so would have meant additional lashes.
So, the questions:
1) Were you spanked as a child? How often? If so, do you think it was justified? If you weren’t spanked, what types of punishments did you receive instead?
2) If you’re a parent (or surrogate parent), what is your philosophy on spanking?
ROG
