Why Does Everyone Pretend There's A 'Spanking Debate'?

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[MainelyLove]

Stefbot - Hello. So much has been said here I won't go off the deep end, want to point out 1 Idea, has anyone mentioned it yet in 617 comments? The Question is Not "do we need to discipline/punish children" via spanking, etc., but WHY Do We Think A Child Needs to Be PUNISHED For Anything? WHY Do We Think A Child Needs To Be "Corrected" Via Physical Attack? Every1's saying that Punishment is Legitimate. The judgement of wrongdoing & the subsequent need to punish is the Real Problem.

[Stefan Molyneux]

I agree, you are totally right in my opinion

[isis297]

To me, and I am a former spanker of my children, parents who spank do so because they lack the skills to achieve what they want with their children. Any parent saying spanking is the only way sometimes could change that if they took the time. We used to spank until our 2nd oldest began to act more angrily and exhibit other behavior we didn't like. Now we parent peacefully, acknowledge, set boundaries, consequences, teach how to process feelings and decisions, etc. Our children are better for it.

[jordan123123451]

Dammit. I am too old to be adopted now. I wish stefan was my dad. He is more gentle than my mom. And he is a cool guy. If he was in my town. I would be proud to call him best friend. Keep defending the children, and anyone that you feel deserves it. Most people will fight you. But some people will thank you for the rest of their lives.

[61shirley]

The controversy surrounds the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine. The three in one together is causing problems, according to a growing number of studies. It's worth looking into.

[thesaintofelsewhere]

You're underthinking it. What are the unintended consequences of bringing the State into personal family life? Giving a social worker free license to evaluate, examine, and break up families as they see fit? Breaking down the ties of family to be replaced by the State. Who evaluates the social worker? Despite legislating nearly every aspect of family life, Anders Breivik was left in the care of a psychologically damaged mother, and Sweden has one of the world's highest suicide rates.

[ChristophDollis]

You're overthinking it. Spanking is an old institution and isn't a result of statism per see. The abuse children suffer and the harm it does to them as they become adults affects the development of the state more than the other way around.

Some statist societies are getting rid of spanking. Last I heard Kenya, Sweden, and NZ are states. It's one of the few success stories of statism.

Since Sweden made spanking illegal, the percentage of parents under 35 believing it's OK dropped to 3%.

[thesaintofelsewhere]

People pretend there is a Spanking Debate because they are used to using the State to solve social problems. They rightly fear that legislation of morality will have the unintended consequences it always does.

[bhaydenca]

You are exactly right Wood. This isnt research, its reading of stats and unfortunately Stefan isn't being impartial and ALLOWING the stats to confirm his agenda. I now have to look at all the rest of Stefans "research" and be sure he isn't just saying what i want him to say because I agree with him on so much else. I go months without spanking and my son and he is quite the rebel (which I love. He's a free thinker and no slave).

[tonylove16]

When you say punished, are you saying a spanking or are you saying applying a negative consequence to an action?

And I want to know peoples' effective strategies for dealing with a child who doesn't understand the parent's language so much yet but is causing disruption in the environment.

I can only think of "redirecting," but you have to have ideas on hand and time is of the essence. Or, is it not in your perspective?

[Chris Wood]

Finally, this can be compared to people comparing meat eating to veganism. Most studies that show veganism as more healthy compare all vegans to all meat eaters. This includes more than just people who eat meat sparingly, and eat healthy meat, which is actually better for you than being a vegan. It also includes people who chow down at Mc'Ds twice a day or eat way too much meat. That isn't scientific. And I say this having been a former vegan.

[Chris Wood]

And I'm sorry, but looking at statistics within using that as a control variable is not a "scientific" study. It is a simple sociological survey that is meaningless. The fact is that spanking is supposed to be done when you are not angry. It is supposed to be done sparingly. Parents also have to themselves be consistent and as non hypocritical as possible. People who are corrected in the right way grow up perfectly fine. Including a bunch of people who were incorrectly spanked is bad form.

[Chris Wood]

i grew up never having been spanked. Ever. My wife grew up having been occasionally spanked. I have had mental problems in the past. My wife has not.  I got into drugs, and made all sorts of other poor life decisions. She had some difficulties in college, but we grew up in similarly emotionally difficult environments, and her difficulties were not near my own.

The reason is simple. She was spanked sparingly and correctly. Most people do not physically punish without doing so vindictively