Kids running wild in public spaces

[MadVlad]

Spanking was never effective on me. I actively rebelled against my parents if they spanked me. I would become so angry and contemptuous of them that I would scheme to find ways to "get them back". The last time my father spanked me I didn't talk to him for a week, and it hurt him but for me it was simple revenge.

To me, spankings didn't hurt or solve problems, it made them worst and it just made me angry. For that reason I will never spank my children, because I'm afraid I'll just spread hte seeds of rebellion in them and I'll have to deal with it when they get old enough to really be a destructive force.

By far, for me, the worst punishment was being grounded to my room. Despite having all sorts of books and radio and plenty of stuff to do in there to occupy me for an entire day, I couldnt' STAND being stuck in my room all day. But I never got grounded to my room for the whole day because I usually stayed in there until my stubbornness wore off and I accepted what I did was wrong and then went and apologized and we could work out a less severe punishment for hte rest of the day (like not being able to go outside and play)...

I am by nature a non-violent person. I do not fight and have broken up more than a few fights in my day. I think spanking is ultimately ineffective in most situations...

In some situations though, it is warranted, especially if the child puts him/herself in danger, like stepping out into a street without looking first.. that's when you yank the child back violently and swat him on the ass.. mostly to scare the hell out of him, indicating to NEVER do that again.

If my child were to sass off to me by swearing, I'd ultimately feel bad. You have no idea how many times I've heard parents say "QUIT YOUR DAMN SWEARING!!!"... some parents are just control-hungry hypocrites, and that, I can't stand.

[Snowguy716]

I don't know that they overused it. I was spanked 4 or 5 times as a child by my father, and never by my mother (despite her spanking both my brother and sister (older and younger).

[MadVlad]

As an aside, I had the misfortune of going to WalMart today. My wife had to go return something, and I was along for the ride with my 19 week old daughter. We get well in the store and a mommy and son are looking at stuff. The mother is totally not paying attention to the kid, who is about 4 years old, and in a carriage. The kid had some fake branch in his hand and was whacking people walking by. As we went to go by, I had no choice but to say "Don't Do it!". I then had to block the branch as he swung it at my daughters carriage. She was very apologetic, not sure what she did after that since I kept walking. I then see a guy with his 2 teenage sons. One of the sons was walking around with shorts on. Now there's a parent that could use some parenting lessons, you don't let your kid walk around with shorts on a cold, windy winter day....

[Snowguy716]

The parent of the kid wearing shorts should certainly be fined at least $25 for that! What horrible parents. That's surely neglect.. teenagers not listening to their parents.. now that is something you don't hear of every day.

This thread is becoming incredibly frivolous.

[dtown]

I encountered some kids running wild at a bowling alley today. One was rolling around in front of the lane, while 7 others were jumping and shouting right behind him. I looked around, and didnt even see their parents until they came back like 10 minutes later, but they didnt make the kids stop being animals. Im surprised none of the kids got hurt. One of the kids even slid seriously like a quarter of the way down the lane, in the oil. I was getting pissed off, and the guy next to me was getting so mad, he turned to his buddy and says this- Man, im getting my #@$%ing balls snipped! I couldnt help but start laughing.

[MadVlad]

The parent of the kid wearing shorts should certainly be fined at least $25 for that! What horrible parents. That's surely neglect.. teenagers not listening to their parents.. now that is something you don't hear of every day.

This thread is becoming incredibly frivolous.

[Recchia]

There's a fine line between spanking, slapping and child abuse. I was slapped, spanked and had bars of soap shoved in my mouth when I was a young kid on a regular basis (I was always a wise-as$ who had to get the last word in), and I never ever thought it was abuse, or that I didn't deserve it.

[Pillsbury]

There's a fine line between spanking, slapping and child abuse. I was slapped, spanked and had bars of soap shoved in my mouth when I was a young kid on a regular basis (I was always a wise-as$ who had to get the last word in), and I never ever thought it was abuse, or that I didn't deserve it.

[Recchia]

Hehe, I hated that soap trick man. That sucked. And it was for like saying some PG-13 word too if I remember correctly. It wasn't one of the bad ones.

[dtown]

Uggh, the soap! My grandma would pull that one if i was being a smart ass. That sucked worse than spanking.

[runawayjim]

there is definitely an increase in the number of kids i see running wild in public areas... and it's not just young kids either (3-6 year olds). there's a lot of parents who drop their 10-12 year olds off at the mall and other places and let them wander around doing whatever the hell they want, which many times is annoying other people who are there to shop or get stuff done or just enjoy themselves without having these kids being loud, obnoxious, and just causing a nuisance. as for the younger kids, their parents just don't care. if you say something they pull the "are you a parent?" crap because people without kids have no idea how to raise them. this annoys me because i have cared for kids and i was once a kid and if i ever acted out like that, i knew i'd be in deep sh*t.

[Gusterfell]

... getting involved when someone is disciplining their child with a spank on the butt is a good way to end up in the hospital...

[Charlotteman]

Do ya'll ever have disturbing memories that just won't fade? I have a VIVID memory of an event that I witnessed in Florida when I was 26.

I was strolling through a Jacksonville flea market, and saw a man shouting at an 11-12 year old boy. I got closer and saw that the man had a booth set up, as a seller. When I got even closer, I saw the man unbuckle his belt and pull it off dramatically and start striking the boy very hard on his legs. The boy was crying and begging his dad not to beat him, "especially with that one with that big buckle". The dad beat the boy with the belt in front of everyone, and I stood there absolutely SHOCKED. The boy was crying and screaming and I WAS FROZEN IN MY TRACKS.

I was so shocked I became numbed, as it brought back horrifying memories of my parents doing the exact same thing to me when I was an 11 year old boy. That boy wasn't being "disciplined". He was being attacked; attacked by the very person that was supposed to be loving and protecting him. Beaten, and I'm sure bruised, just like I was at his age.

That is what I'm talking about folks. I had nightmares for two weeks after seeing that. After the nightmares stopped I made a resolution that if I ever witnessed such a savage attack on a child again, that I would do whatever it takes to stop it. I resolved to step in, call the cops, whatever the situation warranted. Thank god I've never had to actually step in to stop such maddness. But through it all, and through all this discussion here, I still say that if I saw a repeat of what I saw when I was 26, that today would be different. I would intervene.

I guess my personal history of abuse makes it hard for me to think of spanking as anything but a parent venting anger. I'm really not an extremist. I don't think I'm a tough ass. I haven't ever been in a fight. I just love humanity, and think it's part of my responsibility as a human being not to stand by when another person is being abused.

[runawayjim]

spanking does not involve belts and does not involve inflicting pain or serious anger. it's a disciplinary measure that involves a couple quick slaps on the behind that sting for a second. i don't remember being spanked, but i'm pretty sure i was. i know i've had my hands slapped when they've gone places they shouldn't (like the cookie jar). i also had my head whacked by a substitute teacher for no reason whatsoever (i was just sitting with my head in my hand and she whacked it, maybe because i was smiling and you're not supposed to smile in school?).

[Snowguy716]

The acceptance of spanking comes from a time when people were stoned for adultery.

Why, honestly, is it okay to hit children in any form or circumstance when it is not okay to hit other adults? It's an honest question I have that "because they're children and they need to be taught" just doesn't work as an answer. I would argue that it is adults that perpetuate bad behavior in this world.

Children are pretty much blank slates that seek to mimic their parents at a young age and are taught pretty much life long morals by their parents.

The fact that sexism, racism, homophobia, and all these other "isms" in this world still exist is not a sad reflection upon our children, but upon the world's adults that perpetuate what their parents taught them and what their parents taught them.

But all the hardcore Christians are out there teaching, rather trying to force the belief upon others, that you are sinful from birth and that children would naturally digress into sinful horrible beings unless properly raised and punished by their parents. This is complete and utter B.S.

The complete foundation for our "morality" and model of society was defined by a chauvinistic patriarchal society where the man was the king of his household and the women and children were there primarily to serve him. Not exactly enlightened, in my opinion.

[suburban george3]

Why, honestly, is it okay to hit children in any form or circumstance when it is not okay to hit other adults?

[Pillsbury]

^ Haha. I think everyone should get those foam noodle things. Then when someone makes you mad, you just walk up and pop them a few times with the foam noodle. No one gets hurt and you get to let off a lot of steam!!!