Thread: Beating the Children

US evangelists are twisting the Bible to say that beating the young is a Christian doctrine

"I remember my underpants filled with blood. I remember seething with frustration when they beat my brother."

Onward christian soldiers!!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,1792738,00.html

I used to actually think that you could hit your child for doing something wrong. That ended the day my wife had our first child. I can't even imagine hitting my son. He is still punished but non physically.
For those who hit/smack (as in small amounts) their children for disobediance I can only wonder how they do it. But I think they may still have that right. For those who actually beat a child for no reason, if I find you, you had better be able to run faster then I can. I may be bringing a bat with me as well. At least a golf club, I have those in my trunk.

I notice that the article only quotes one person in one book recomending beatings. It also does something that concerns me, and uses quotes about spanking as if they meant beatings. They are not the same, and do not belong lumped up together.

Spanking does not equal beating unless it is excessive. And I agree with many evangelists that not spanking a child when needed can lead to terrible consiquences in that person's future that are far worse from their attitude.

I believe that beating a person, whether child or not, is absolutely wrong under any conditions.

I don't see multiple evangelists preaching that children should be beat, despite the plural use of the word in the title. To me, it looks like making a mountain out of a molehill. If one not very respected man writes a book saying to beat your child, it is no likely many people who are part of the peaceful religion he claims to be part of will pick up on it and follow it.

In every bunch of apples, at least one is wrotten. No need to assume it ruins the whole basket.

My father is of the old school way of "Spare the rod, spoil the chld." He's always telling me, "You gotta beat their (you know whats), then they'll listen." I've spanked them, but I hate how I feel after and try not to do more than a little swat here and there (I threaten to hit them with the belt, but never do, I remember not being able to sit for a few hours, it ain't fun!!).

I don't think anything a child does wrong warrants a beating of the proportions cited in that quote "I remember my underpants filled with blood. I remember seething with frustration when they beat my brother." . Smacking them on the butt a few times, yes, but beating them until they bleed?!?!?!?!!? :x

We completely agree - that is beating, and is totally unwarranted.

My dad's motto was "Alert the ass to alert the brain".. Luckily, my 10 year old son has common sense reasoning skills and understand's what right and wrong... ~Inky

I have 2 children. My son, you could spank him and i mean spank, no more than 3 licks on the butt, and it doesn't bother him, how ever yank the plug on the TV for a week, and ground him from playing with his friends for a week and boy, you just crushed his world. My daughter however you can just tell her you are going to spank her and she stops whatever she is doing and normally wont do it again. So i think it depends on the child and the "crime". I grew up getting my butt whooped, and i'm not mentally or emotionally scared from it. I feel that whatever diciplain you use is good as long as you use it. If you kids have no respect for you or anyone eles, and can't act civilized in public then the parents need a good butt beating. "Spair the rod, spoil the child" is a blanket term for diciplain. Not just spanking but time-out, grounding, or whatever. but it is only effective if used.

my parents used to smack us with slippers when we were small and pinch us. but not so much. it hasnt really affected me, although i do feel a swell of anger every time i think about it. all i know is, i would never beat my child. children understand more than we give them credit for. there are other ways to enforce discipline.

My grandmother was the one who hit us with the slippers, the old lady, wooden heeled ones, too!! Dad used the belt and his huge hands for spankings. I'm not a drug addict, or a psychopath or a mean mother for it, but it's not something I would do to my kids. I think my brother and I turned out well, no criminal records, never been in trouble with the law, married with good familes....but I would never do it to my own.

My grandmother had the dreaded wooden spoon. If you would be acting up, if you even saw her look at the kitchen you hid. The last time I was smacked is when she broke it on me. I knew after that the only thing she had was a metal spatula and I wasn't messing with that.