h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Whilst it is obvious that violence against anyone is a terrible thing there is a distinct correllation between the end of the use of corporal punishment in schools and the rapid increase in violent crime in Britain over the last 20 years. Maybe the only way for children to learn that violence is wrong is to be exposed to a (highly controlled) dose of it in their formative years. in the same way that we inocculate our children against diseases by exposing them to a denatured version of that disease.

god sometimes i wish i'd never put that essay on h2g2 and left it strictly for the exam board!

What you have to realise from the essay is that although I am totally against smacking and don't believe any child should be smacked it's never going to stop and i dare say at some point in my future as am only 16 i will at some point if i have kids smack them.

I was smacked rarely and in my honest opinion i've turned out better than those among my friends who got smacked on a regular basis.

I just believe that there are ways and means of teaching a child a lesson without the use of physical violence.

i see your point and would like to add that i dont think smacking itself teaches any particular lesson, but it is a great way to get a childs total and focused attention for long enough to actually teach them why whatever it was they did to deserve a smack was wrong. and with your average six year old this is no mean feat.

Once my son (7) has been smacked I can't get any sense out of him, and certainly not into him until he's stopped crying!

Ahh...well I'm 16 and have probably been smacked a total of 3 times and as i said in my entry not only did i, but my mum would no doubtably end up in tears...i must admit it taught me something though...when you've done something wrong either own up, don't get caught or head for the hills.

I for one am planning not to smack my children...doesn't mean it wont happen though. I just don't believe like Mina says that it gets any sense into a child it will if anything just teach them to be violent in return and i am quiet aware that some people may think it stops their children from becoming violent but it is a risk i am not willing to take...disipline should not have to be connected to physical abuse.

The one thing that really gets me though is when you're in a shop and some mother has her kid and it's crying its head off and she just whacks it one! Some times I wish i could just go up to the parent and do it to them...see how they like it...but I'd rather not be arrested and charged with assault...but what makes it different for a child?

1/ - if smacking your child renders him insensible then maybe your hitting him too hard? (sorry - cruel but an obvious comeback im afraid)I certainly would not condone hitting any other part of the body than the bottom, back of legs or back of hands where no physical damage can possibly be done.

2/ - anyone who "whacks" a child in the head is obviously well out of order, have you considered challanging such a person because until people are brave enough to do this children will continue to get whacked in the head?

3/ - And like i said the lesson does not lie in violence but in what you do once you have caused an impression and in your overall approach to child discipline.

4/ - Unfortunately the world is a very dangerous and unpleasantly violent place. Its better that a child recieves a (very small) amount of pain from a smack and learns from it not to do something that will cause much more pain such as running out into the road/ sticking his fingers in the electric fire/ picking things up off the floor and putting them in his mouth

1/ - if smacking your child renders him insensible then maybe you're hitting him too hard? (sorry - cruel but an obvious comeback im afraid)I certainly would not condone hitting any other part of the body than the bottom, back of legs or back of hands where no physical damage can possibly be done.

2/ - anyone who "whacks" a child in the head is obviously well out of order, have you considered challanging such a person? Until people are brave enough to do this children will continue to get whacked in the head!

3/ - And like i said the lesson does not lie in violence but in what you do once you have caused an impression and in your overall approach to educating your child.

4/ - Unfortunately the world is a very dangerous place, particularly for a youngster who knows no fear nor sense of their own mortality. Its better that a child recieves a (very small) amount of pain from a smack and learns from it not to do something that will cause much more pain such as running out into the road/ sticking his fingers in the electric fire/ any one of about a thousand things that youngsters do without thinking that can get them killed in an instant. Children need to be prepared for a world that will do its best to kill them every now and again.

No, I'm not smacking him too hard. He's upset because it stings, and that I have actually had to smack him. He rarely gets smacked, so it's a bit of a shock to him. I only ever smack his hands, because I ask him where he wants the smack, hands or bottom. He always chooses hands. I never smack him in anger, only when I am calm, and I make sure he knows why he has been so naughty that I think only a smack will do.

I haven't ever seen a parent smack a child in the head, it's not something I think many people do now.

I think the lesson for kids with smacks is that bad behaviour is punished by pain. If they get that occasionally, I don't think it's a bad thing to be honest, but smacking a lot, for minor misdemeanours, teaches kids that the biggest person gets to hurt the smaller one, or in other words, the powerful are allowed to hurt the weak. Not a good lesson for kids to learn.
They can be taught about not running in the road by other means, explaining, example etc. My kid crosses roads very well, where my friends kid just runs across them, as she threatens with smacks when he does it.
If you are going to hurt a child for doing something that will hurt them, why not let them get hurt doing it? They'll learn just the same.

i totally agree! I very rarely smack my son and its only in extreme circumstances where an immediate impression has to be made. like you said, it isnt so much the sting as the indignation that hurts.

btw, if you put an introduction, even one sentence, on your user space, then other people can come and talk to you there.

I feel very out of place here, my only experience of smacking is from when i was little and even though I wrote the essay I can see my opinion is probably not as worth while as others.

The fact is hitting ANYONE is wrong and hitting someone who's unable to hit back such as a child surely is doubly so.

The fact that you are not a parent doesn't make your opinion worthless. It is hard to say what you will and won't do with your children before you get them though, as once they are here, they can be very confusing!

Yes well it's all very well and good that i say I'm not going to smack my kids (when i have some) but from babysitting my mum and dad's friends 3 daughters I can see why the temptation may be there...but frankly i would never do it and it was bad enough hanging on to one of them for dear life while she tried to catch the fish in the pond.