Spanking

[DanaC]

I believe there will come a time in the future when people will read history, learn that we had a practice of beating children systematically on their bare buttocks, and they will cringe in the horror of such a bizarrely cruel and ineffective parenting approach to misbehavior.

I sort of thought that was where most of us already were? Though, reading the responses maybe I am wrong:P I don't know anybody in my day to day life who would think that anything but bizarre and outdated. I know a few who'll grab their kid by the hand and slap their arse a couple of times. But over the knee bare bottomed? Haven't known anybody approve of that for decades (for the children anyway...:P)

[Griff]

Originally Posted by DanaC

I sort of thought that was where most of us already were? Though, reading the responses maybe I am wrong:P I don't know anybody in my day to day life who would think that anything but bizarre and outdated. I know a few who'll grab their kid by the hand and slap their arse a couple of times. But over the knee bare bottomed? Haven't known anybody approve of that for decades (for the children anyway...:P)

It is still frighteningly common in the African-American community I work in to use a belt on a child. I've heard intellectuals connect it with control/authority taking it all the way back to slavery. Often it is Gramma doing the raising so we're going back a generation in outlook and she may not have the energy for real discipline. This violence equaling authority mind set doesn't work well for the rest of society. Does anyone want to link this to the Southern thread or the hate thread?

[SteveDallas]

Originally Posted by Griff

Does anyone want to link this to the Southern thread or the hate thread?

Well, I think it does have something to do with where you grew up. In my case in North Carolina spankings were fairly common, including (especially?) at school. Whereas Mrs. Dallas grew up in New Jersey, where it was banned in the schools, and thought it was beyond barbaric when she encountered it in Pennsylvania as a student teacher.