Should public schools paddle kids?

[DD]

I've never understood how being violent to a child is supposed to teach that child that it is inappropriate to hit others or disrupt a classroom with inappropriate behavior.

Certainly hope that Walton County will follow Okaloosa's lead and get rid of this option.

If my four year old had been abused as stated in a post 22 above, not only would that woman have lost her job; the pre-school would have had to answer to a judge! Glad you stepped in to protect the child, DD. I am sure it made a huge difference in his life to know that someone stood up for him.

Thanks. My sincere hope is that today that 40-something year old has no recollection of it.

 

[GoodWitch58]

Thanks. My sincere hope is that today that 40-something year old has no recollection of it.

me too, but I think that is probably not the case.

Today I intend to send this to the Walton County School Board with a request that they abolish the option of paddling children.



Plain Talk About Spanking

School Board:

Bill Laird, Chair: LairdBI@walton.k12.fl.us
Sharron Roberts, VChair: RobertsS@walton.k12.fl.us
DavisMAR@walton.k12.fl.us
BarnhillDA@walton.k12.fl.us
WilkersM@walton.k12.fl.us
Ben Holley, Esq.
Attorney for the Board
P. O. Box 1238
Crestview, Florida 32536
(anyone know why the Walton Co. School Board has an Okaloosa County attorney?)

 

[hnooe]

The only time a paddling lesson is appropriate is if BobbyJ is teaching you how to surf! :angry:

 

[Bobby J]

The only time a paddling lesson is appropriate is if BobbyJ is teaching you how to surf! :angry:

I agree with that...

 

[steyou]

My wife and I have never said it was OK for anyone at school to paddle our children. Our instructions were to call us if she was not behaving (we never got a call). We were the ones to give spankings at home. If I recall we did not spake after about the age of 5-6. Wasn't needed after that. When we did spank it was not being violent to our children. It was a correction that we believe in. Spare the rod and spoil the child. That is our belief. In the handful of times I gave the spankings, I don't think the force of the spanking would have killed an ant but what it did was hurt their feeling as they thought Daddy was dissapointed in them. Our youngest is going into 7th grade. We would never ever consider giving her a spanking now. I can't even remember when she deserved one in the past 7 years. Lord knows that may be different in the future but I hope not. I am proud of all my kids and their behavior.

 

[NoHall]

My wife and I have never said it was OK for anyone at school to paddle our children. Our instructions were to call us if she was not behaving (we never got a call). We were the ones to give spankings at home. If I recall we did not spake after about the age of 5-6. Wasn't needed after that. When we did spank it was not being violent to our children. It was a correction that we believe in. Spare the rod and spoil the child. That is our belief. In the handful of times I gave the spankings, I don't think the force of the spanking would have killed an ant but what it did was hurt their feeling as they thought Daddy was dissapointed in them. Our youngest is going into 7th grade. We would never ever consider giving her a spanking now. I can't even remember when she deserved one in the past 7 years. Lord knows that may be different in the future but I hope not. I am proud of all my kids and their behavior.

Like I said, my parents didn't spank me after I was about 2, but I heard the "I got a spanking when I was 18" story from my father, mostly by way of warning. Even though my parents did not actually spank me, the threat was enough to tell me that I better straighten up real fast.

 

[NoHall]

Another thought--I also sometimes tell my students that they are committing what could be the last act of their young lives. They know I won't actually kill them (I often tell them that it's not worth all the trouble I'd have to go through before I am inevitably acquitted) but they know they're pushing a button they shouldn't push.

That said, can we outlaw paddling but tell the kids that schools support a good spanking every once in a while?

 

[Smiling JOe]

I can think of plenty of ways to show disappointment with a baby than to spank them. However, maybe disappointment isn't what needs to be shown in order to correct the behavior. Maybe love and understanding is the answer.

 

[Mango]

Once in a blue moon moon, a mild whack on the heiney, especially if it pains you to do it, is not a terrible thing. Little children do not always understand the full ramifications of their actions in dangerous situations regardless of how many times you patiently and lovingly explain. They also push the card to explore their boundaries, especially boys, in these situations.

I did it once to my nephew at around 3, with a diaper on, but he never took that hot wheel back into the street again. Maybe because he realized he scared the bejeeus out of me or disappointed me? Not sure. Either way, it worked at that time. Just taking the hot wheel away did not have nearly the same impact.

Would my sister or I want anyone else to do it? Absolutely not. There's a level of trust and a love that no one else can match.

P.S. I cried that whole night about it and even called my friend who is a child social worker for foster care and she told me she wished that some potential parents would be honest and say that there is a time and place for a blue moon tushy wack.

But paddling? had no idea that it was still an issue.

 

[Blair]

I wouldn't go into some of the inner city schools here in Memphis with a paddle...You better be packing heat or a taser or something....A paddle???
That's like taking a slingshot to a gunfight..... maybe I'm comparing apples to oranges though...