Spanking children

Whether or not spanking children is acceptable is the subject of much debate recently. A couple has been turned down as potential foster parents because they have admitted that if necessary they would spank their own child. Most of the populace is alleged to think it improper to spank children.

The other day I was talking to one of my younger friends about methods used to discipline children. We talked about 'time outs', grounding, holding back 'rewards' until the child displayed desired behavior, etc. One of the things we discussed was the act of spanking and my friend explained that no, he does not spank any of his children.

He explained that what he does is go out for a ride in the car, taking the misbehaving child, and talking to him. He said that usually this works and that the child calms down fairly quickly and really doesn't take too much time. By removing the child, in this case his son, from the immediate situation and providing a change of scenery, the child is allowed to focus on something different. Once the child has the opportunity to change perspective, things get better quickly and the child has better understanding of his place within the family and begins to understand the family's concept of acceptable behavior.

He kindly shared a picture of the process which I share with you now.