"Spare the rod and spoil the child"?

You are so right I mean when I was growing up my mom will give you a hiding if you need one and I can truely say it did not turn me or my sisters and brothers in to hooligans and we never ever thought of gangs.

There is a huge difference between spanking and abusing. The penitentiary research is skewed unless they also ask the same number of never incarcerated people. You could say that 95% of inmates were raised on Mother's milk. You set up rules and guidelines for your children. And they will always push to see just how much they can get away with. If the punishment is sitting in a corner or having Mommy talk to you, big deal. If the punishment involves a bit a pain, the child will think twice about breaking the rules next time. I think you could probably do a study and see that moral decay, violence in schools, disruptive classroom behavior and so on all became an increasing problem after the mahogany was removed from the Principal's office.

There is a huge difference between disciplining a child with a spanking and beating them. Alot of people do not, or just refuse to see the difference in the two.

I admit, I spanked my children when they did things that could cause them physical harm, such as running out in the road, putting fingers close to light sockets, etc. I wanted them to associate these particular behaviors with pain. A small swat on the tail end after all is nothing compared to the pain they would receive if hit by a car or electrocuted.

Many people think that spanking is abuse. I say it saves a child's life in certain circumstances and teaches them boundaries that they will carry forth for the rest of their lives.

There are some people that do not know how to control themselves, hence child abuse does happen, and it's a shame. But the parents that are trying to teach their children to be safe and to set boundaries for them should not be criticized or looked down upon for choosing spanking as a viable and valid form of punishment.

Thanks to the ridiculous PC brigade and too many do gooders, we now have no way of disciplining children, there is no disciplne in the home, schools and even the police just give hooligans a telling off! Sadly children learn their"rights" at a very young age and know that they re now the untouchable generation.I am just grateful that my kids grew up in an age where a smacked bottom didnt cause an outrag. They are now very well adjused young adults who would never have even thought of mugging or shooting people. I could go on but why bother? We are certainly reaping what we have sewn!

Parents are not able to discipline with a rod anymore - that is considered child abuse. There in black and white.

Society chose to spare the rod because many children like me were given it at times we did not deserve it.

The rod was administered in a non uniform way meaning some parents DID abuse their children and this is not acceptable.

Why is it wrong to assault an adult but not a defenceless child?

Sure children need rules/boundaries/discipline - BUT they do not need to be physically assaulted until they learn how to behave!!

Don't blame soft parents for the demise of society - the problem is far too complex for that. Your question seems childish/very immature in that there is not social science basis/reasoning behind it.

My dad definitely did not spare the rod with me. I think I'm relatively socially adjusted. I definitely think some shows like Nanny 911 and such make me sick to see kids so out of control and parents so stupid and useless.

spare the rod and smack the lazy parent for a child's bad behaviour, is more appropriate nowadays. The example a parent gives a child is reflected in the child's behaviour, sadly seen all too often.

I agree entirely with the sentiments expressed about the use of corporal punishment. At 62 years old you can imagine I received my fair share. You will be surprised at the number of thumbs down that answers in favour of spanking generate. Wait and see.

Physical punishment is not the best method of instilling discipline, but it's one that works and is easy to learn. Abandoning physical punishment was a cruel experiment that has had predictable results. Expect a rush of lawsuits from gun-toting psychopaths complaining they were not whacked enough as children.

Quotes from the Good Book and newspaperspeak daft phraese won't help. The politicians are doing it too. Laws are in place but too few police means that they are not enforced.