5 reasons NOT to smack and still discipline

Recent surveys have shown that many parents admitted to smacking their kids at one time or other. Most of these parents did not feel great about it.

Some reasons why you should not smack:

• Some people say they just give a tap or a little smack. There are no such gray areas in smacking. It is purely black and white. You either smack or don’t. Make a decision not to. You will never know when you will cross the border of a little smack to a bigger one.
• Kids imitate. If you start to smack your kids from a young age, they will learn that when they are old enough, they can hit their siblings and friends too.
• Schools used corporal punishment in the past. So did parents. Times have changed. We don’t want teachers to smack our kids, so let’s all leave smacking to where it belongs – in the past.
• Rather than wishing for things to be easier, wish to be a better parent by learning the skills to be able to manage your children without having to smack them.
• Smacking is a temporary solution to a problem that will only go on for a longer time. Smacking does not work today. It may stop a behavior for now, but it won’t give you any long term solutions.

So what can you do when you feel like smacking? When kids have pushed you to the point when you think you will burst and you just need to give that one little smack to get things right?

Walk away if you can. If you can’t do that, remove yourself from the room where your kids are until you have calmed down. For young preschool children, take the object of agony away from them so they can connect their behavior to the consequence. For older kids, tell them what behavior is expected of them, many times over if needed.

Happy Parenting!