#63

I think a lot of it comes from whatever your personal experience is tbh. I was smacked lightly a fair bit (I was quite naughty tbf) and didn’t misbehave in certain ways afterwards so it worked on me. Obviously that’s not the case for everyone or necessarily anyone else but I can only speak from my POV.

#64

Fuck sake

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#65

It is definitely something that is really personal between families and there is a fine line between smacking as discipline and parents losing their cool and terrifying the child (probably later regretting it and expressing this to the child which may have long term impact, let them think it’s ok to be hit by those you love when they lose control etc) but in an environment where it is controlled, is purely for discipline and not the parent lashing out in frustration and venting their anger, it is an effective and harmless way of disciplining one’s child once they are of an age to understand what is happening (smacking a baby is imo unacceptable in any form or shape, they don’t understand what is happening so it’s pointless therefore harnful)

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#66

I’m an annoying adult, yet still can’t find anyone who will spank me

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#67

@anon19035908
I don’t think it did me any harm, as I said above it was a very, very rare occurance but just because it ‘didn’t do me any harm’ doesn’t mean its OK.

I just disagree with it entirely.
I don’t think people should resort to violence (however mild) to discipline a child.
(or anyone!)

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#68

Got smacked as a kid and I wasn’t even naughty

I love my mum and there was shit going on but I still cry about it now

#69

I’m sorry to hear that :frowning: it can easily cross the line to bad outcomes and i definitely only defend it in very specific circumstances which are probably like 2% out of 100 where the rest is bad

#70

Definitely.
My mum once was cleaning one of her china lady model things and I screamed outside so loud that it startled her and she dropped it and smashed all it’s fingers off.

#71

Was smacked as a child but knew when to misbehave cause my mums soft tiny hands wouldn’t really do much but oh boy if my dad was about with his huge leather dry hands, i’d get a proper whop

Didn’t change my behaviour at all. Just got faster at running up the stairs and stronger at holding my door shut to avoid the smack!

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#72

I was lovely apparently. Very happy, didn’t cry much.

It all went wrong when I hit puberty as it normally does.

#73

I honestly thought everyone got smacked as a child?

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#74

I think my siblings were probably worse than me (there was a time when my sister got a pair of compasses and etched my name into the wood of our piano, for example).

There was smacking, but I can’t tell whether it made me better or not, because more than anything else there was the threat of being smacked that hung over you. I know I’m one of the older DiSsers, and thankfully attitudes were definitely changing throughout my childhood - I imagine that for some of the younger people about there wasn’t nearly as much of that threat.

#75

I didn’t.

I agree with @Gnometorious on this.

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#76

I’m in no way saying smacking is acceptable. I just thought when I was a kid getting smacked, mostly everyone else was also getting smacked. It’s only really been fairly recent (like 10-15 years) where smacking kids is seen as unacceptable and more put them on the naughty step vibes. We’ve got Jo Frost to thank for that!

#77

I was generally well behaved and raised to respect my elders and all that, would never talk to my mum or step dad the way I heard some kids talk to theirs and I was afraid of getting into trouble, I hated being told off, I didn’t need the threat of being smacked to stop doing something I was told not to do, a stern telling off was enough.

Do you think you would not have respected your parents if they didn’t smack you?

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#78

Was definitely surprised as well when I learned that getting a smack off your parent was something that people had never experienced, and conversely they thought that getting hit by your parents was a whole getting flayed by belts situation which it wasn’t for me anyway

#79

It definitely worked more for respecting my siblings, usually when I got a smack it was for doing something to them, had definitely been raised to be respectful to parents but 4 of us siblings rarely fought as a result of this or did anything serious other than mild name calling because we didn’t want to get into trouble

#80

this is the thing, right

it’s not smacking that does anything to change a child’s behaviour, it’s a whole lot of other things

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#81

I was a right cry baby

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#82

My mother claims that “like the cat, you brought yourself up”.