Truthfully, I used to spank. Honestly, I didn't know any different. I thought spanking was normal and what you are SUPPOSED to do to kids. My parents weren't big spankers, I can't even remember a time my mom spanked me though I'm sure she did. (Well, there was that time that she slapped me across the face but that was a totally different and totally deserved story for another time ;) )
So naturally, I thought spanking was just what you did as a parent, to your child. Wait a minute, have we really thought this through? We're talking about hitting our children, the beings we love more than ourselves, the little people that we are completely responsible for, little pieces of our hearts running around outside of our bodies... we're SUPPOSED to hit them? And teach them what? That hitting is ok? Do as I say, and not as I do right? Spank your child for hitting their friend or sibling... HUH?
I realized something, something that I have in the past been guilty of but its rotten nonetheless. Do you know how horrible it sounds when a parent threatens a child "You better stop that or you're going to get a spanking!" We have created this word "spanking" to make it sound like less than it is. What if we replace "spanking" with "beat your ass"... its not very nice is it.
Do you threaten to hit any other person in your life that you love? What if my husband and I started threatening to hit each other when we didn't do what the other wanted us to do?
I struggle daily with parenting and the hardest part of it all is discipline. How do we know the right thing to do? It is SO very hard.. but I honestly don't believe that hitting our children is the right way to teach them.
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