# Spanking Is NOT 'Child Abuse'? And the belt isn't necessarily abuse, either **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [November 21, 2002, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spanking-is-not-child-abuse-and-the-belt-isnt-necessarily-abuse-either/138037 "2002-11-21T22:10:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Palo\_Verde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Palo\_Verde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palo_Verde)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2002, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spanking-is-not-child-abuse-and-the-belt-isnt-necessarily-abuse-either/138037/161 "2002-11-26T15:57:38Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Mr2001 \* > \*\* > However, the world of non-physical punishment is much broader than the world of physical punishment. When you’re inflicting physical pain, your only choices are “how hard?” and “how many?”, but there are all kinds of privileges you can revoke and restrictions you can lay down._\* I guess the ‘world of physical punnishment’ is much broader because it includes all of the choices that are non physical in addition to those that are physical. Depending on the offense, I could choose a time out, a pop on the bottom, a revoked priviledge, a stern lecture, etc. > [@](#): > > \*\* > > Now it’s your turn. Assuming that no long-term harm would result, is there a level of physical pain which you would not inflict in order to change your child’s behavior? \*\* Of course. The idea behind a spanking is to get their attention and let them know of the seriousness of their action. One smack on the bottom does this quite well. I have never had the urge to slap a face, hit with a paddle etc. Just like a 5 minute time out does the job well. I’ve never had the urge to make my son stand in the corner with his nose in a circle for an hour. I just don’t see the difference. Both physical and non-physical can be used effectively. Both can be abused. ---
**Author:** ![tiny\_ham](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a183cd/32.png) [@tiny\_ham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tiny_ham)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2002, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spanking-is-not-child-abuse-and-the-belt-isnt-necessarily-abuse-either/138037/162 "2002-11-26T16:44:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by brianjedi \* > \*\* > And **jar,** I’ve looked at that quote with the smiley several times, and I’m just not seeing what you are getting so distraught over. Maybe your life experiences give you a different viewpoint on it, but I don’t see where you get “regular beatings to instill fear and submission” from the use of “regular dietary supplement” to describe the **occasional** use of a belt to reinforce the severity of the punishment. > \*\* A. the parents on this board that I’ve spoken to regarding spanking almost unilaterally referred to it as ‘heartbreaking’. Anahita in particular said that slapping her child on the hand made her feel sick to her stomach and like a terrible person. So to see Joe\_Cool gleefully put a smilie face after his proud proclimation about whipping a child until he can’t sit down and then THREATENING to do it WORSE if the child misbehaves again seemed to me like he was taking great pride in the dominance he had over his child. (hypothetical child I suppose, I don’t know if he’s allowed to discipline Jersey’s) B. To me, a regular dietary supplement is something I take daily or once a week, like a vitamin, and that’s how Joe\_Cool described belt beatings. C. My experiences as a child were lovely. I was spanked on the ass with an open hand twice in my life, and that was when I was about five or six. My parents were strict, Christian, conservative parents who punished us by taking away privileges (I was not allowed to go trick or treating after it was discovered I lied about a test score), grounding, and the old stand by which I guess everyone has given up on: TELLING US WHY WHAT WE DID WAS WRONG. But I was not made to feel like a lesser human being than my parents. I was not AFRAID of them. And my sister and I turned out very well. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/spanking-is-not-child-abuse-and-the-belt-isnt-necessarily-abuse-either/138037.md?page=8)