This one has me thinking about some of my own behaviors and how I got sucked into spanking when I knew instinctively it was wrong…

As I have highlighted in previous posts, one of the most stressful aspects of parenting reported by parents is when their children fight. Although by now the scientific study of parenting has forwarded some exceptional methods of parenting to help deal with the stress of sibling dynamics, many parents respond out of religious conviction to sibling aggression with spanking their children.

Imagine the irony of hearing a parent yell at their child “don’t ever hit your brother, we do not hit in this house…” as the parent proceed to hit their child.

This technique is apparently making a comeback in some online circles as a parenting method to deal with many childhood misbehaviors. Recently I was sent a link by a religious friend of mine to what he thought was a clever online post that read something to effect of “I was spanked as a child and therefore… have developed a respect for others.”

I responded to his link with “you probably also developed aggressive tendencies, an anxiety disorder, anti-social tendencies, academic problems, and sexual issues…”

I have yet to hear back from him.

Continue reading “Responding to Sibling Fighting with Spanking?” →