Stumbling Upon a Spanking
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I don’t spank my kids. Don’t get me wrong; there have been a few times when I really felt compelled to spank, but my husband and I have a No Hitting rule that has worked for us so far. The term “spank” has come up a few times in the books we’ve read with the kids, but as far as I know they had never actually witnessed a spanking before.
…until this past weekend. My son walked in on his aunt delivering a spanking to his cousin. I’m not judging her for her parenting tactics, but my son was quite taken aback by the whole situation. His eyes got huge and he got really upset. My husband ushered him into another room and tried to explain to him that some parents spank their kids as a form of discipline, but my son isn’t really at an age where he can grasp the intricacies of parental discipline tactics.
He’s still talking about the situation today. He’ll get a really concerned look on his face and say something along the lines of “…his mommy hit him!” and try to get us to explain it in terms he can understand.
He was pretty horrified by the situation. I would love to hear how other parents deal with similar situations. Any ideas?
Dawn Allcot says...
I don’t have any tips, but I want to commend you for not passing judgment. I do think it’s important to try to explain the difference between a disciplinary spanking and a child being “beaten” but I have no idea at what age a child would understand that.
(BTW, I am neither condoning or condemning spanking at this time, either…)