What do you think would happen if you spanked your dc?

[bellona]

This is supposed to be a light-hearted thread....

Today I was thinking about spanking because I read an article online where a mother didn't start spanking until her ds was 6 - my ds's age. I was just thinking "oh, man, If I tried spanking him now I'd be in a world of trouble". And I could see him turning around and making that face he makes when he's put out that someone did something and is thinking to himself "how stupid can one person be???" and asking "MOOOOOMMMMM, WHAT did you just do to me???"

I think the next time the spanking discussion comes up I'll tell the other person that I can't spank my kids because they just won't let me

[wonderwahine]

probably the same reaction i get with "no!"......a laugh and a grin

when he was smaller and i lost my temper in ultra fussy needy times (and before me and dh started really commiting to GD), i spanked him once or twice (on his diaper) and he gave me more of a shocked "what did you do" look more than any other kind of reaction.....then went back to his crying fits.

[jackson'smama]

i try to be as GD as possible, but feel lost at times - especially when ds (20 mos) is biting the heck out of me and thinks its funny. my recent solution is to go to his room and put him in his crib and talk to him about not biting (this takes all of about 15 seconds). in the crib, he gets serious. out of the crib, it's riotous laughter. so, i believe that if i spanked him, he just might laugh at me. i don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing, but i'm not willing to find out!

[Brigianna]

I've never done it, but I suspect dd (6) would be offended and indignant, like "you can't do that to me!" Ds (3) would probably hit me back. Cousin (11 mos.) would probably cry and have a panic attack (he's very sensitive and clingy--would *not* fare well with non-gentle discipline).

[IncaMama]

oh rowan likes to get spanked. of course it's always just a little game with us, and has absolutely nothing to do with punishments or anything. you know, little love taps...tickle fights...so i'm sure that if we tried to do it in a negative way he'd think we were playing with him.

[Twilight]

Mine would be totally destroyed! I have to admit when I lose my temper I yell sometimes and it just kills her... she cries and then it ends up taking much more time to bring us both back to feeling OK about things. If I ever hit her... she would cry and look completely shocked and I can't imagine how guilty I would feel. I don't know if she would ever get over it.

[peacelovingmama]

Sorin is 4 and has never been struck. If I did (and I never ever would), he would likely say: "STOP! This is my body and hitting is NOT ok!" This is what I've taught him to say if anyone hits him or touches him in a way that makes him uncomfortable.

DD, also never hit, is 22 months. She would be devastated and betrayed. She is a sensitive child and so violating her like that would crush her.

ETA: Once I was bathing Sorin and he was annoyed and said "This is MY body Mama. Stop!" It kind of cracked me up and also made me proud that he has internalized that his body is his and his alone.

[shell024]

ds would be terrified and scream...just like he did when he saw dp spank my butt. :

[Fuamami]

Unfortunately, I know, as I have lost my temper and hit my dd on a few occasions. There was certainly no laughing involved, those times have been some of the most shameful moments of my entire life, and were probably some of my daughter's most frightening.

Sorry, I know that's not very light-hearted.

[peacelovingmama]

Originally Posted by natensarah

Unfortunately, I know, as I have lost my temper and hit my dd on a few occasions. There was certainly no laughing involved, those times have been some of the most shameful moments of my entire life, and were probably some of my daughter's most frightening.

Sorry, I know that's not very light-hearted.

No, but it's honest and we need to hear that too.

[DebraBaker]

I'm just thinking of the look of betrayal.

Enough to keep me in check if I should lose my temper.

[edswife]

My first thought when I read the subject line was "Well my husband would kill me of course!"

[mamaduck]

At this point -- it would be ridiculous. I suggested it over dinner the other night, in a joking way, after a harrowing day. The boys burst out laughting. Six yo. said, "If you can catch me!" And DH looked at my 115-pound 5-foot 9 yo. and said, "I'd like to see you try it with this one!" Its a very *good thing* that I've developed better methods of relating to these guys, because they will both be bigger than me at age 11!

[TeaBag]

Well, sadly I did hit my ds once. He looked at me in shock and betrayal and said "WHAT are you doing?" He was 6. That look was enough to shock me out of the rage.

Now, the subject of spankings are a joke in our house. As a pp said, tickling, "spanking", etc....it turns into a huge wrestling match.

[Llyra]

Well first of all, DH would divorce me. Seriously. I might be able to forgive myself, and DD would probably be able to forgive me, but Dh would never. Ever.

I think that DD would break down. Nobody's ever treated her roughly in her entire life, unless you count tickle matches and stuff like that. She tends to be sensitive, and she cries if I even so much as look at her in an annoyed way, so I think being hit would cause her to cave in. She'd cry, and be afraid of me, and have trouble trusting me for awhile afterwards.

All of which are excellent reasons never to do it, not that I was planning to anyway.

[wonderwahine]

we spank ds in play to, he has little taps while changing his diaper or if hes playing on the bed on his tummy...we'll go "got your booty!" He loves being tickled, and now that hes getting older, hes finding ways to tickle us.

[Joannarachel]

I had a not-proud moment when DS was about 13 months and I was 7 months pregnant. I was doing some work and had things lying about that were ENTIRELY inappropriate for a toddler...like scissors.

Of course, he reached for the shiny objects (the preface to this is that besides being a very pregnant mother of a young toddler, it had been an incredibly LONG, STRESSFUL day. no excuse, but still).

I shouted, "NO!" and slapped at his hand (missed entirely, too )

Well, he gave me his best "LADY, WTF?!?!" look, grabbed the scissors, and ran away cackling his little toddler heart out

[Dragonfly]

Originally Posted by Trust~and~Wait

Well, sadly I did hit my ds once. He looked at me in shock and betrayal

Same here (he was 2.5 or so and I completely lost it). And then we both started bawling. It was awful.

Now, at 5.5, I'd get an earful. He doesn't stand for being disrespected, thank goodness.

[LovinLiviLou]

I lost my cool a few weeks ago and swatted dd#1 for the first time (things have been a bit stressful at times since the new bundle of joy arrived). DD looked at me with disbelief and said "Mom, hands are not for hitting." (That's a children's book in case you haven't heard of it) I burst out in tears, we both cried, and I apologized profusely. So, its a good thing we have that book, eh? Keeps us both on track.

[Melany]

I'm more of a lurker, and thought I would share this.

Out of frustration (which is why now I lurk on here and have received some great tips and help) I tapped my son on his backside for something. I don't even remember what he did, but I was at my wits end. He very clearly says to me, "Mommy, no hit!" I felt about 1/2 an inch tall and he was exactly correct. I had been telling him not to hit forever and here I was doing it to him.

-Melany