To hit or not to hit – that is the question. Seems like ‘Jon and Kate Plus 8‘ mommy Kate Gosselin can’t stay out of controversy. Imagine what it would be like if the paparazzi were following all of our every moves. It must be so trying.
But I suppose that is what you sign up for these days once you enter into a reality show contract.
Which side are you on with this never ending debate? Is spanking ever acceptable?
ONTD
Update: Kate issued a statement to Life & Style magazine in response to these photos.
Whether the paparazzi are there or not, I am a mother first. I love my
children and when they misbehave, I discipline them as I deem
appropriate for the situation."
Let the debate continue…
My mom was a single parent with four kids. She had a paddle to spank us with and I think that was actually the best way to learn not to do something wrong. Believe me, we really thought before we acted! We all thank her to this day for being so strict with us. Spanking is good for kids (granted not abusive spanking, but a regular spanking, absolutely). Too many kids are spoiled today because parents are too lax with discipline. I’d like to pull some of the parents I see aside and tell them that if they actually did discipline their kids, they might start listening to them as a parent. Parents aren’t meant to be friends with their kids, they are meant to be parents (at least when they’re young, as adults… oh yeah, definitely!) And no, I’m not condoning child abuse, I just think that parents are too easy on their kids now and then they wonder what they’re doing wrong…
If you watched the show before they moved to the new house, there were timeout spots all over their old house – corner near front door, steps in the garage, etc. This must have been something serious for her to spank HER child. These pictures don’t tell the whole story.
It’s never ok to hit. It teaches your child to use violence to get your point across or that it’s ok to loose controll and resort to violence. No-ones perfect, but this is parenting 101.
She’s insane. Why wouldn’t she think that it’s okay? The telling thing would be seeing if Jon ever did it.
spanking is perfectly acceptable in my book every once in a while. regardless of how we feel about spanking, I have to point out that it is IMPOSSIBLE to determine what was going between mother and daughter in this picture!!! it looks to me like her daughter was throwing a temper tantrum and Kate was just getting frustrated…we don’t see her raising a hand or anything. It reminds me of that story circulating in the tabloids a few weeks back when her daughter said ‘you’re mean mommy!’, and everybody made a huge deal out of that. I mean, come on, what kid didn’t say that to their parent at some point when they were little! I am 30 years old and I still say that every once in a while
I am sure Kate Gosslin is not the perfect parent…she has way too many things going on between trying to look good (i.e. spending 2 hours at the gym every day), having 8 children, being on a reality show, trying to deal with a failing marriage…but it’s also unfair to judge her based on these grainly little pictures and a caption from some tabloid.
Time outs don’t work with my daughter, she just follows me around crying and telling me that she doesn’t want to be in time out. I have never spanked her, but have threatened many times. The mere threat works with her (for now).
I agree with the comments above that state that kids get away with too much now, they are not disciplined properly. I was spanked as a child and i am not scarred by it at all. The second picture does look harsh, but she was probably turning her daughter around to send her away.
I feel badly for this woman. She did ask for the spotlight in a sense, but not the invasion of privacy. I enjoy seeing pictures of celebs when they are out in public, but not the blurry ones that are obviously taken from the bushes.
Of course spanking is acceptable – read the Bible! Wish I’d been a bit more of a disciplinarian with my kid – would have probably not caused so much trouble.
Timeouts are bullshit. A good swat on the ass never killed anyone.
Gimme a break! We’re not talking a “beating” here, we’re talking about just popping one’s backside.
Define spanking? To me spanking is a series of hit’s to the bottom with the intent on causing pain. This looks more like a swat with the intent to getting the child’s attention. Some might say both are wrong. I’m not taking sides I just think there is a difference. Spanking as I see it is prolonged there for is out of the question. A swat not so clear cut.
I have 3 kids a 4yr old, 3, and 9 month old. I tell you my 3 yr old is really something. She is always doing something she is not suppose too. I have spanked her and let me tell you she gets worse. So, I don’t spank her anymore I do the naughty chair. It does take time, but eventually she will stop and say sorry.
I have three kids and I admit I have spanked my kids .. on the butt!! Once in awhile a spanking is needed!! Nobody is allowed to properly discipline any more and then they wonder why they become so out of control when they get older. It’s because they weren’t disciplined and taught the proper limitations. I was spanked and I am still alive to talk about as my kids will be as well!!
I think we are talking about a beating here. Look at the kids face, if it was just a pop on the butt, the kid wouldn’t be crying that hard. Check out the arm grabbing. To anyone who want’s to use a pop on the butt; before doing it count to five first. I would bet after counting you would not think it was the best way to get your point across. It’s just easier than putting the time in to correct your child properly. People who say time outs dont work, aren’t doing it correctly. The parents usually give up too easily. No-one says parenting is easy. It’s a lot of work and it is tempting to take the easy way out.
My parents also spanked me, i’m not damaged because of it and it was effective in making me really think about what i was doing. My parents also smoked like chimneys around us, doesnt mean it’s ok to smoke around my kids. We didn’t wear seatbelts or bike helmets either (going on and on) We should learn from the past.
Every child is different and needs different methods of discipline. Some children are gentle and don’t really require a smack, others do. While its never acceptable to abuse a child, I don’t see anything wrong with putting the child in check and letting them know who is boss.
The problem is the government are not allowing parents to be parents anymore and because the parents don’t want to be arrested and potentially have their children taken away from them, they don’t discipline their children accordingly. In turn, the children are thinking themselves equal and losing respect for their parents, authority figures and the general public. Letting a child know that there are repercussions for their actions is never a bad thing.
My parents never hit me but were very strict and got the point across when they needed to. A little spank is ok every now and then, but only when it’s necessary. Kids don’t listen at all and sometimes parents have to resort to a little spank. I don’t believe in full blown hitting, but a light spank can get the message across. I also feel the constant scrutiny from the media is probably getting to Kate and the family. The stress level must be immense. We don’t know the story, we can’t judge them. I’m personally really tired of hearing about them so much. Yes, they signed up for this, but there is a limit. We have to be strict with our children because they’re getting out of control and they will walk all over their parents.
if she abuses her husband, she is going to abuse her kids.
SPanking is needed sometimes. I have spanked my 2 kids WHEN they were a danger. Running in the street. Reaching for the hot stove etc.
IMO it’s not a big deal. She is not beating Leah she spanked her on the butt. There is a huge problem with lack of dicipline now a days. HUGE.
wow! 2009 and folks still think that hitting (spanking) is okay. it is NOT! physical violence is not the way to reach a child or help them learn a long term lesson. they only thing that they remember is the fear and the message for them is to hit others. i know this from real world experience and through education. i have friends whose parents hit them and they are messed up. i am going to school to become a counselor and hitting does not work. some folks who hit claim that those who do not are just too nice but the truth is that it does not work – kids do not understand, except for fear, what is happening…
Leah was blowing on a whistle and Kate couldn’t hear while talking on her cell phone.
That’s bullsh!t. A smack is not physical violence and you can’t can people together and treat them all the same way…people are not the same and never will be. Different things work for different people.
Sure a smack is a warning, but wouldn’t it be better to explain to the child what to do and what not to do? Smacking is never the answer. It promotes people to grow up hot- headed. I have friends who were smacked and they do not have a lot of patience. Perhaps it was because they were always smacked when they did something wrong, instead of it being explained to them.
@10:21- well my sister and I were spanked on several occasions as kids (nothing I would call close to a beating though, just a swat on the ass here and there) and neither one of us grew up to be messed up. My sister is a wonderful elementary school teacher who loves her kids and I am an RN. Not exactly professions that “messed up” people go into. And trust me- the “spankings” did work, I can assure you we didnt do whatever had caused them in the first place again after that. Most kids I have been around who only get timeouts or whatever still continue to act terrible afterwards.
When I was a child my parents spanked me and I remember hating them for it. I don’t remember what I did wrong or what I did to deserve it, I just remember hating them for it. So, I vowed to never spank my children and I never have. There are much more effective ways to get children to behave, like time-outs and taking privileges away. Now, just the threat of taking a privilege away is enough to get my kids to behave.
Here’s a thought for you all who think that spanking is okay.
What happens when you hit your spouse? Domestic assault.
What happens if you hit your co-worker? Aggravated assault.
What happens when you hit your pet? Animal cruelty.
But hey, smacking an innocent child is considered “Discipline”.
Spanking is lazy parenting, pure and simple. Discipline is hard, there’s no two ways about it, but it can be done without violence and intimidation. My parent’s spanked me as a child and I still remember how humiliating that was.
I have never spanked my 2 kids and they are the furthest thing from spoiled brats. Gentle discipline can work, but it takes dedication and time.
As for Kate, colour me not surprised. From what I understand from something I read on another site, this is not the worst of it. She has been heard smacking one of the boys 5 or 6 times with a plastic mixing spoon. Who considers that okay?
She definitely has anger issues and dealing with a philandering, absent husband and 8 kids is difficult. Hopefully she can get the help she needs before she messes them up more than she already has.
Not true. I was spanked as a child when I misbehaved and by no means do i think violence and loosing control is a way to get a point across.
She’s not hitting her, she’s not punching her, she’s not throwing her across a room into a wall, she’s SPANKING her. There is a HUGE difference. And yes, I don’t have a problem with spanking. Sometimes there is no other way to get a child’s attention – if you have any experience with children, you should know that. I would never abuse my children, but they need to know that there are consequences if nothing else works. Myself and my 5 well-adjusted siblings who received spankings probably would tend to disagree with you. But then, if the parents are sh*tty parents on top of that, I don’t know what to say. Spankings did not screw me up or push me to violent tendencies. Sorry if you have a problem with that.
You can not tell what is going on by just looking at the pics….so wasted argument to me.
Please. You obviously don’t have kids. Small children squirm and they’re dramatic. She wasn’t beating her..didn’t you notice the open hand in the picture??? Sometimes, you can count to 45 and it’s not enough time. By then, your child has jumped over the back of the couch and broken his/her arm or darted out in from of a car because they don’t want to obey. It’s easy to judge when you don’t have the experience of being a parent.
Absolutely aggree with you. I do the same with my son – he is just a toddler and so I cannot reason with him that it is dangerous for him to open the oven when it is hot or run down the driveway towards the street – so a little swat on the bum lets him know that this is serious and Mummy isn’t joking when she says no. I fully believe in properly executed time-outs for day to day occurances that need punishment but sometimes you need a little more than a few minutes on the naughty step. As long as you are balancing enough discipline and nurturing your child will not get the wrong idea about spanking – and come on its not like we are talking about spanking a 10 yr old – she is spanking a toddler, as I already mentioned, you cannot reason with a toddler and sometimes a swat to the bum is what is needed to ‘bring them down to earth’ as a previous poster mentioned. I also think that this whole arguement about ‘look at the child’s face in the second picture’ is a crock. You can’t determine from a facial expression in a snap shot whether or not they are in serious pain…if you have or have had a toddler you will aggree with me, I am sure, when I say that they can have earth shattering meltdowns and look like that on a daily basis over nothing at all….drama is just part of their nature and a manipulation tool but its just a phase and they grow and mature past it. Bottom line, Kate needs to decide the best course of action when it comes to disciplining her children, we can’t judge that from two still shots.
It should be a parents decision on whether to spank or not. Some want to, some don’t. I do feel that kids need to fear their parents a little. I’m not suggesting that beating a child is okay! I’m just saying, if children don’t fear punishment, some will not listen to their parents. I saw it with my brother. He didn’t fear my parents and did whatever he wanted. So some may respond to time outs or being sent to their room, while others may need a swat on the butt to have respect for their parents words. Not all kids are the same so not all punishments should be the same. It should be the parents decision!
It’s easy to sit back and judge. When you aren’t in the situation (no husband support, 8 kids, public scrutiny) it’s easy to judge. Maybe people need to just quit watching if they don’t like what goes on in their house!!!!
Have you ever tried “reasoning” or explaining something to a toddler, it doesn’t work….however, I do sort of aggree that you need to start rational discussions at an early age. If you do spank, then you need to follow it up with a clear explanation of what was wrong but let me tell you if your little one is running down the driveway towards the street, telling them that “you are putting yourself in danger little johnny/janey” isn’t going to get them to stop or appreciate the gravity of what they are doing.
People are so stupid and need to get a grip. She isn’t beating her kid and spanking when done properly does work. It should be a last resort and the offense should be great…it let’s kids know that someone is in charge and above them.
Spanking is a last resort measure and should be used in the case of danger (putting fingers in socket, running out in the street, leaving Mom’s side in the mall).
Aw Leah’s my favorite. Even though I do agree with spanking this picture is quite sad because spanking should be private. It must be hard having your children in the spotlight with you at all times.
I don´t think spanking is ever NEEDED or RIGHT, but I don´t think it´s a big crime that will ruin the child´s life either (if its just a little smack on the butt we are talking about). Children will accept the fact that their parents are only human and can loose their temper. But it should be made clear, and parents should set the example – that violence is not the right solution for any kind of conflict. The problem with children having no discipline, respect etc. is just a result from following the bad example of grownups, not from lack of beating!
If a child is in danger as some comments say, you can just grab it and pull it away? Why would you need to hit it?
My parents were absolutely against it and never hit or spanked me, there were of course rules, but they kept explaining and discussing everything and always gave me the feeling that they trusted me to behave like an intelligent and considerate human being – so I did, simply because I did not want to disappoint them. My brother and I both were thought to be really well behaved kids and did not have any trouble at school and with grownups, so I guess my parents were either lucky or the lack of “discipline” did not harm us.
No, it’s psycho-babble nonsense thought up by someone who didn’t have kids. I was spanked, I spank. My siblings and I turned out fine, my kids are happy, well-adjusted and WELL BEHAVED. If more parents spanked, their kids would respect them and society as a whole might be decent once again. Things went downhill when that sort of drivel started being preached. Pop the kid on the butt, get their attention, get down on their level and explain what they’ve done wrong, that it’s not acceptable and then get an apology. Kids NEED boundaries and correction.
It’s definitely not beating! Are you kidding, I know that I cried more from the anticipation of getting spanked as a kids than the actual action of getting spanked. People are rushing to judgments way too fast on this one!
Exactly. My middle child tells me he’s DYING of hunger when he wants a snack. Complete with dramatic back of the hand to the forehead and dropping to the knees. Kids=drama.
Hitting-no, spanking-yes. “parenting 101″ is crap.
How do you know what Leah was doing? Nobody seems to know what that child did to get a spanking. What we need to be talking about is the stalkers with cameras standing outside their property?
Spanking is lazy parenting. If you are close enough to spank the child in a dangerous situation(fingers in socket, running in the street, etc), then aren’t you close enough to pick them up, remove them from danger and then explain to them what they’ve done wrong? It would seem to me that if a child is putting something in a socket your first instinct as a parent should be to remove them from danger, not hitting them.
I have 4 kids ages 18, 16, 15 & 7. They are all very well adjusted, none of them have ever broken anything by trying to run away. When i speak to them (even when they were toddlers), they generally listen. If they didn’t and ran away, i would simply pick them up, place them in time out and continue the conversation when they were done.
My oldest 3 would sometimes triple team me, going in 3 different directions. It was stressful and very annoying. The easy thing to do would have been to “spank” all of them and send them off to thier rooms to think about what they’ve done. However, I know (from my own upbringing) that they would only think about how to do what they want, WITHOUT getting caught.
Again, If you are close enough to your child that is darting in front of a car to spank them, why wouldn’t you just pick them up?????
I absolutely agree with everything you said! Someone above commented “look at the kids face…it’s abuse!”. Give me a break…Leah was probably crying that hard from throwing a major temper tantrum which KIDS DO. Just like you said, NOBODY has any clue what was really going on here.
THIS.
I don’t think most of these people understand that spanking is not akin to physical abuse. I had more verbal abuse than I cared to deal with in my childhood and that’s stuck with me way more than the 10-15 times I got spanked for being bad. And that ended once I got older.
How do you know that she didn’t try to “explain” to her before this? These are PICTURES. We have no idea what the situation was. Give me a break.
LOL WAT
I was spanked as a child and I never even think about resorting to violence to solve my problems. I’d rather talk them out and figure out a compromise but my parents were never passive aggressive with me either and I think that helped a lot.
You said it perfectly!!!
Not all toddler understand that putting a your fingers in the socket is dangerous or that it’s too dangerous to run in the streets no matter how many times you tell them. Some children just need to experience the danger in order to understand. So do you spank in order for them to think twice before they do it or you let them get electrocuted or hit by a car? uhm I think spank.
That sucks. I am sorry for you! I hope you have risen above it.
Verbal abuse can be far worse than physical abuse in some cases.
No one is talking about losing control. You lose control when your child doesn’t listen to you. You lose control when your child doesn’t respect you. When presented with a situation where your child does something inappropriate and they are not old enough to understand reason, a swat on the behind is a clear indication that they should change their behavior. This does not teach your child that violence is the only way to get your point across. My son is 11 and has been spank a few times when he was young and he is the most non-violent person I know. Parenting 101 =’s take responsibility for your child but be compassionate towards them. And being compassionate towards them means not letting them grow up being an arsehole that has no respect for others and his/her actions. When you encounter rude, disrespectful people in the world; you can probably thank their parents for not disciplining them enough to help them grow into decent, kind, and considerate people. Whenever I meet a kid that lacks respect, I immediately think his/her parents don’t really care about his/her well being.
No one is talking about losing control. You lose control when your child doesn’t listen to you. You lose control when your child doesn’t respect you. When presented with a situation where your child does something inappropriate and they are not old enough to understand reason, a swat on the behind is a clear indication that they should change their behavior. This does not teach your child that violence is the only way to get your point across. My son is 11 and has been spank a few times when he was young and he is the most non-violent person I know. Parenting 101 =’s take responsibility for your child but be compassionate towards them. And being compassionate towards them means not letting them grow up being an ahole that has no respect for others and his/her actions. When you encounter rude, disrespectful people in the world; you can probably thank their parents for not disciplining them enough to help them grow into decent, kind, and considerate people. Whenever I meet a kid that lacks respect, I immediately think his/her parents don’t really care about his/her well being.
No one is talking about losing control. You lose control when your child doesn’t listen to you. You lose control when your child doesn’t respect you. When presented with a situation where your child does something inappropriate and they are not old enough to understand reason, a swat on the behind is a clear indication that they should change their behavior. This does not teach your child that violence is the only way to get your point across. My son is 11 and has been spank a few times when he was young and he is the most non-violent person I know. Parenting 101 =’s take responsibility for your child but be compassionate towards them. And being compassionate towards them means not letting them grow up being an ahole that has no respect for others and his/her actions. When you encounter rude, disrespectful people in the world; you can probably thank their parents for not disciplining them enough to help them grow into decent, kind, and considerate people. Whenever I meet a kid that lacks respect, I immediately think his/her parents don’t really care about his/her well being.
Yes, I think you hit the nail on the head: Perhaps she should’ve immediately taken her to a private room and spanked her, given that she knows there are always cameras on her. Otherwise, I see nothing wrong with this. I’m afraid if I had that many kids, I’d always walk around with a paddle!
Do you have children? My son cries like that when he gets his nightly book taken away. Which is his punishment when he misbehaves. We used 1,2,3…Magic. He stays there until the timer goes off and is usually misbehaving again within a couple of minutes.
thumbs up for this! i was teaching at a kindergarten and 8 kids are nothing against 25! and it IS hardwork NOT to take a quick solution by scaring a child with a smack! i don’t understand why most adults who have been hit always defend hitting/smacking and say that they themselves “turn out fine WITH being hitted as a child”. we are so not fine.
P.S. It looks more like Kate has a firm hold on her becuase the child is slanted most likely getting ready to toss herself on the ground. It doesn’t look like she’s abusively holding the child or even applying pressure to the arm other than to support the child.
Love it!
To Anonymous at 10:21 am. SO because it’s 2009 it’s not OK to spank?? If you make sense then maybe in 20 years it won’t even be OK to tell your child what to do.
resorting to violence as an adult is just one consequence of being hitted as a child. others are being overly nice, demour, strong, shy, unmanly (b/c “only men hit! i don’t want to be like my father!”) etc.
LMAO – that is so very true! I love your candor!!
It seems to me from the picture that Kate spanked her child (a slap on the butt) in the first shot and then picked her up in the second shot. Grabbing her child’s arms there is not a rough gesture she is in the process of picking her up. If you have been spanked properly you know it comes hand in hand with comfort and explanation which is best done with the parent holding the child on their lap or, in this case, in her arms. I am from a family of 12 children all of whom were spanked. Some of us don’t think spanking is the way to discipline your children some of us do NONE of us feel that we were abused.
To those who say that other forms of discipline work on their children and they are “not spoiled at all.” I will let you in on a secret. Very few people with spoiled children think their children are spoiled but other people can tell. You say that they behave well but you are a parent and of course you see your kids in the best light, you love them for Pete’s sake! And maybe your kids do behave well, well God bless you for bringing them up well. And thank you to all of you who are concerned for the well being of kids but know this… sometimes spanking is for the well being of kids. I understood this before I turned 7 and was indignant about the fact that someone might think my parents were abusing me when they corrected me.
NEVER! just look at the terror on that child’s face. How can hitting your child ever, ever be OK? I have two children and I’ve never, ever spanked them and never will.
And I can see your children growing up to believe that nobody can punish them for what they do . . . I have five children and purposely have rasied them all differently and let me tell you … My un-spanked child is the worst as far as behavior and discipline, at what point do you give in to your child and give them the power to dictate what they will do or not.
Example: Child grabs an item they are not to have, you yell and say “don’t touch it, turn around child grabs it, take it from the child and tell them to go in the corner, child says no and grabs item again, you take item again and walk the child to “time out”, walk away child gets up walks back into other room, grabs object again . . . Child says no and listens to nothing you say . . . why? causee there is not that point where the child has no choice but to suffer consequences. THE SPANKING!!!
My girls who are 3 and four are constantly commented on how well they behave, and all daddy has to do is give them that look and they know they are doing wrong and if they don’t stop, apologize for doing what they know is wrong and act right, there butt will end up hurting.
I don’t beat my children, My oldest son I paddled once with a board when he was young, from that point on, I have never had to discipline since.
My experience working with children and teens, who have developed into easrly aged adults . . . The children who have not recieved a spanking are the most disrespectful, arrogant, “untouchable” attitude punks, I’ve ever known. These are the same type of children who end up shooting up a school house, they are not taught about respect for others, we don’t always get what we want, we have punishments to suffer that are beyond or choice and control. They need to learn that at some point they are going to disrespect the wrong person and get something they may not be prepared for. Everyone loves my girls and my oldest boy, the others aren’t so liked among my friends and family my kids range from 14-3, I have spent years working in a child-adolescent-young adult, psychology field working with ages 2-26
Spare the rod, spoil the child . . .
But there is a fine line that seperates discipline and abuse and that is where the problem lies, Abuse is somthing that needs to be regulated on a case by case basis, because if I smacked my childs rear end because they tried to burn their sibling, is this acceptable to safe the sibling life, or someone else’s in the future.
I’ve been doing numerous study cases where I recommend spanking to a parent with an unruly child, and believe it or not, 6 months into it, the child has a 180 degree change in attitude
Your parenting skills suck!!!! It is ok to spank your child, so they can learn from their mistakes. Kate Gosslin has 8 children and punishing them all isn’t always going to work. SPANK EM!!! But never beat em!!
oh please….and I bet your kids were brats…there is terror on her face, cause she was doing something she was told not to do ,and knew she was going to be punished…which is the lesson….you people and your time outs…that’s why there are so many kids out there with no idea of consequences….they didn’t have any growing up. Spanking is not the same thing as abuse, and a good parent knows the difference. Her kids, her choice.
i spank my kids when they are out of control! i dont believe of just “talking to them or time out” that DOESNT WORK! if they disrespect you or do not listen you bet your butt they get the belt! i cant stand kate shes a tramp but the kid must’ve done something to piss her off. And that is no ones business of how she disciplines her kids!
of course her face looks upset, she did something wrong, and her mother caught it…so she is getting a spank, she isnt beating her child, she is correcting her…there is a difference in being hit, on the face, in the head etc. but a spank on the bottom…not going to damage the child.
I truly disagree with you. I would like to see your children compared to a child with discipline in their lives. You cannot shelter your children to think they can do no wrong. It seems easy for you to comment on Kate Gosselin, but you should keep your comments to yourself as you do not seem to know what the real world is all about.
i’m 21 and have a 2year old this is what i have to say according to my experience as a mom and a child while growing up. I’m on both sides, you can spank however it should be done with love not out of stress and anger. You should first ground the child if they don’t listen then go to second step of spanking. you should see the look in her face she’s stressed and should not be taken out on the kids. well that’s my point of view. Sometimes us mothers need to take a time out, and ask god for patience.
That is why you kids are bad ass! She did nothing wrong..she didn’t take it far at all!
That is why you kids are bad ass! She did nothing wrong..she didn’t take it far at all!
well your kids must be angels but if you had 8 of them it might be a diffrent story
I wanted to say maybe she was swatting a bee or some flying insect or something innocent but that second shot is worth a thousand words (and tears).
remember—-just like a kid who wants a toy that the parent can’t buy, the kid will make a waterworks scene right there in front of everybody to make the parent look bad.
So what? Tell me what mother has not spanked their child? I don’t believe in hitting a child, I spanked my child once when he was little, he stole something and I didn’t agree. I’ve never hit him again since. We can’t judge her, I’m 100% sure, our parents spanked us and we have spanked our kids. There is a big difference from spanking and physical abuse. They are people out there that will use this to grill Kate and try to take her kids.
I can 100% say my mum never hit me, or my brother . I have a few friends who were hit when they were little and they think it will be fine for them to smack ( or spank as you say in the US)their child. They see nothing wrong with it, however they are all a little selfish and quite hot tempered. My bro and I are pretty laid back.
You say there’s a big difference between smacking and physical abuse. I really think that smacking is a form of abuse- the child looks so hurt. Imagine, the person that is your whole world HITTING you as punishment! You would not condone a man to hurt a woman, yet some people see smacking a child as punishment. It’s strange. Would you smack your dog for doing something wrong, your co-worker, or another relative??
Plenty of moms have never spanked or hit thier kids in any other way-myself included.
YES, kids should get spanked. There are so many spoiled little brats these days who throw a fit when they don’t get there way and it carries over into adulthood. example; Reality stars should have been spanked as kids. When I got out of line the paintstick came out and I never did it again
i think people who hit their child for “throwing a fit” did things wrong in raising the child quite a bit ago before and should give themselves a spank.
two kids is nothing like having 8 i’d imagine (and seemingly single parenting at that). i don’t think disciplining a child is wrong and a single spanking is a far cry from abuse.
I agree with you and Anonymous above. I am a mother of an 11-year old boy who is a good, caring, and sweet kid. A large percentage of his great disposition comes from himself, but a portion comes from not being allowed to get away with behaving like a spoiled rotten kid growing up with no repercussions. You know the saying: “spare the rod spoil the child”. I think that in the long run, by disciplining your child you are showing them that you care for him/her. You care how he/she turns out in life. Part of being a good parent is teaching your child early on what is right and wrong and not leaving that up to schools, church, or their friends family.
We would never physically abuse our son, but when he was younger and was learning right from wrong, he was spanked when necessary.
When kids are young, too young to know right from wrong, a spank on the bottom sends a signal that what they just did or the way they just acted was inappropriate. You can’t very well reason with a 5 year old, can you? As they get older and you are able to reason with them and they understand, then spanking is no longer necessary.
In our society today there are so many loons that really abuse their children that it creates this hot button issue when you even say spanking, but spanking is not a big deal. If everyone who gets all fired up about the spanking issue channeled that energy around real child abuse, like sexual abuse and neglect perhaps we would be doing some real good in the world
I agree with you. I am a fan of their show and i’ve never seen one thing that pointed to abuse.
The second picture looks scary…but I am not against spanking, though i never think it should be hard enough to seriously hurt a child or cause them t o fear their parents. I think that sometimes parents do need to use some force. I was spanked lightly as a child and this did not harm me or affect my development negativley.
In the second picture it looks like she is grabbed her daughter as if she was shaking her
This. I don’t think spanking is a big deal if it’s a sole episode & it doesn’t have to hurt & i highly doubt anyone will be traumatized because of that. But the 2nd pic disturbed me more because she looks like she’s about to shake the kid.
Such a touchy subject. Just like the comment above, I want to know what adult hasn’t been spanked as a child. I think that if it is absolutely needed, it may be OK. Timeouts don’t always work. Some children are bolder than others. I feel bad that this has gotten out about Kate because you can obviously tell from the picture that a pap was stalked out in front of her house. I would like to know how any mother of 8 wouldn’t smack one of their kids butts, a lot of the kids feed of one another and it can get to be too much….in my humble opinion.
I’m an adult, I was never spanked as a child.
I think America needs to let parents do more parenting. Kids are getting so rude and ignorant. I use to be heavy set against spanking. My daughter never needed it. Then I had a son. I tried everything in the book. He is wild and free willed. The only way I can get him to come back down to Earth is a swat on the butt. They’re very rare and don’t even induce tears, but it let’s him know I mean business.
You scare me.
I agree. Once the government started telling us how to raise our kids, more kids are out of control. I might have been spanked once when I was a child but the knowledge that I COULD be, kept me from trying too many things that I knew would result in that kind of consequence.
i agree. my daughter hasn’t been spanked yet & she’s pretty calm, but it only takes me to ask her hand (to slap it lightly, of course) & she already knows i’m not kidding about whatever i’m addressing.
when i attended school the teachers still used a paddle (ugh, thankfully this stopped) & as far as i know, no one’s hand fell off.
You said: think America needs to let parents do more parenting. Kids are getting so rude and ignorant
I couldn’t agree more! Take ownership of your children and stop expecting the teachers, the coaches and the churches to do your dirty work!!
I agree you 100%!! I think that if more parents would spank their children – - – SPANK, not beat!- – - -that we wouldn’t have the problems we have now. I used to get spanked when I was little, it didn’t hurt physically, but it did embaress me and I understood not to be bad again. I belive had my parents not spanked me when I was younger, I wouldnt have ended up being a good responsible adult like I am now.
The government should worry about the dam economy instead of worrying about parents raising their own children!!!
Come on girls and mothers, give Kate a little break. She’s going through a hard time with her husband, all of a sudden America is obsessed with her and she’s on the cover of magazines for weeks, and she has 8 little kids. I don’t really like Kate on the show, but if she’s heading towards a nervous breakdown, I couldn’t blame her.
My dad hit me once when I was a child (it wasn’t even a “hit”, more a hard touch), and 20 years later, he still feels guilty. So don’t give Kate a hard time, maybe she flipped out for a second and feels bad enough already.
The kids seem happy and healthy.
Ridiculous
Sometimes childreen need to be punish and hit… and I think the image looks like it was an act of punishment/education… In italy we said: Con le buone o con le cattive… that means that you can learn with words or with punishment!! so if the meaning is to educate i totally agree… but only if you have already try with words!
Oh please, people make such a big deal out of spanking in this day and age. When I was a kid, me and my siblings all got spanked when we misbehaved and none of us turned out damaged or negatively affected by it. We respected our parents. That’s something that some kids today do not do.
Spanking a child is not child abuse.
I think the state of the world is greatly effected by the lack of discipline of children. Spanking is NOT beating! Time outs may work sometimes but other times it may take a firm hand. I am not a fan of people who expose their children to the world for profit but I feel for her having to justify herself in this case.
Doesn’t anyone see the pattern that going on TV for the world to see kind of ruins everything?
Spanking to me is an acceptable parenting tool. I myself do not have children, but I was spanked as a child and I learned my lesson quick and I am not sitting in a shrinks office crying about the day my mother beat my butt!!!! To me a lot of the Gosselins kids, from what I have seen on the shows and such cry at the drop of a hat if they don’t get their way or are caught doing something they shouldn’t. So I definetely could understand if Kate turned to last resorts, plus the pictures cannot tell the whole story. I know of quite a few children I know who need a good spanking to show respect and manners to their parents and elders.
Angelina also makes it!
But the secret is always !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Spanking is not abuse and there is something wrong with you if think it is. Most intelligent people doesn’t wake up in the morning and says I think I am going to abuse my kids. Those who do there is something wrong with them. If a child acts out then what are we suppose to do set them in a chair and say sit there what is that really doing. That is saying it’s ok to do you will just have another time out when you do it again. If more parents would discipline their children then we would have less teenagers committing crimes. This is a non issue and I don’t understand why the DAMN police was called. She is their mother and who called them. The paparazzi. Some of you peop[le should be more concerned with your children looking up to the celebs and watching their every instead of a spanking.
There needs to be laws against these paparazzi’s stalking this family and others. It is disgusting.
I was spanked as a child. I am not against it. I think if more kids these days were disciplined, there wouldn’t be so many spoiled rotten kids running around telling there parents what to do. The problem I have with this is, she knows she is being watched. She should have known pictures of it would be all over the internet. She should have taken her inside to discipline her, instead of in the front yard for all to see.
GOOD FOR HER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If more children in the world were spanked by their parents (not beaten, spanked) then we would have less little asshole growing up and ruining today’s society.
I was actually smacked with a belt on my bum when i was a child, but i remember every reasons (like when I nearly set our house on fire
And I don’t hate my parents for that. I hope I will not need to smack my daughter but i should admit that I smacked her hands a little when she was trying to scratch my face because i would stop her from doing something she was not allowed to do.
However, the way that the photos come out… Most probably she was not even spanking her!!!!
Who cares?
Sometimes, your kid needs a good smack to get the point across. I was spanked growing up but it was never hard enough to leave a red mark or bruise. Hard enough to get you to shut up and start behaving but other than that no harm done. Yeah, your kid might cry a bit–so what? Shouldn’t have been misbehaving to begin with and they brought it upon themselves.
So if this is what she does in front of people, how does she treat them when no-ones around? I think she enjoys the publicity. She’s lost the plot. She should be more concerned with raising all of those children, who are likely having thier own issues with being in the public eye. Their parents are having marriage trouble, not to mention trying to find an identy of thier own in a large family. That’s enough stuff on one mothers plate.
There is NEVER a reason to lay a hand on ANYONE, no matter how old or young. And before anyone says anything, I have children.
You wanna hear my lifestory, folks?
Hitting and spanking is a big no in my opinion. I was never spanked or hit and I would never do it to my kids because I think it’s a negative thing to instill fear in children. There are other ways to punish or reinforce things to children.
We see spanking in two ways. There’s the walmart spank which is done out of anger to punish a child while yelling, then there’s the teaching spank done to get the child’s attention while reminding them of rules.
Some cultures view time out as unacceptable because taking them away from the family and into another room is too harsh, other view smacking the hand or bum normal.
I choose not to spank, but do not consider it unacceptable. Its like a harness on a child, until you’re in their shoes you cannot judge.
i think she is just being a parent and a mom of 8. i was spanked a few times when I was a kid and I turned out fine!! AND I was a drama queen just like her in the 2nd picture.. i would blow everything out of porportion and make a big deal out of it. I think Kate is doing a great job and people need to stop making her out to be a monster. She is a mom of 8 and those kids appear to be turning out to be well behaved kids.
To the person that said we should never instill fear in our children I disagree!!! Fear is respect!!! We teach our children to fear strangers, fire, inappropriate touch so as they respect these situations and stay away…if spanking your child instills fear then it teaches them to fear the spanking not the parent because children learn very quickly that the spanking is the result of an inappropriate action and will steer clear.
This is ridiculous. Back in the days of non PC, Archie Bunker and The Jeffersons it was NOT abuse to give your child a spanking. I remember being told to walk outside and get a switch or my Sicilian mother going for the wooden spoon in the kitchen drawer and spanking me when I acted like a self-centered spoiled brat. I was paddled in school when I acted out or didn’t follow the rules. I grew up to be a well adjusted 37 year old in todays society without being violent much less a serial killer… These new age “moms” need to relax, swatting your child on the bottom or hand is not going to make them instantly violent. Everyone, children just alike should be held accountable for not following the rules… even if that means a swat on your behind!
Ummmm I think I can speak for everyone when I say no…not so much!!
i was spanked as a child, at least that is what I am told because I don’t remember it. That is how traumatizing it was.
There is a difference between spanking your own child a few times, and abusing them consistently.
I water torture my kids
good for her, if a kid needs a spanking then they should get one!
Trina
My parents thought a spanking was beating me down. They started with spanking when I was very young, and it eventually got worse. I think this is the case with more parents than we’d like to admit and I will never, ever spank my kids because of what they have done. There are so many better ways to teach and discipline your kids besides hitting them.
Well said!
All of you that think “spanking” is acceptable–would you be ok with your babysitter, neighbor, teacher, coach, pastor etc spanking YOUR child? If it is a such a great parenting tool, wouldn’t you want your child to reap it’s benifits wherever they go? Suppose your little one is at nursery school and he/she runs off and is headed into traffic–wouldn’t you want that teacher to spank the crap out him in order to drive home the message that the street is dangerous? Makes perfect sense to me.
By the way–Kate was not teaching this child (who is 6 not a toddler) a safety lesson, the child was blowing a whistle-which annoyed her mother and the mother hit her out of anger and annoyance-that’s atleast bad parenting, probably abuse too.
I love you.
i agree however since not too many old school mom’s exist anymore, it should have been done inside privately. Not literally in front of the world as shown.
in any case, i feel sorry for the little girl. Kate scares me, imagine how the little girl feels!
I dont like her but there are times you need to spank kids.Its part of discipline.
http://www.monicamemo.com
This woman is a narsissist with anger issues and should never be left alone with children.
Angelina also makes it! But this is a secret!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Angelina also makes it! But this is a secret!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Angelina also makes it! But this is a secret!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Angelina also makes it! But this is a secret!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Angelina also makes it! But this is a secret!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Angelina also makes it! But this is a secret!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Angelina also makes it! But this is a secret!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Angelina also makes it! But this is a secret!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Angelina also makes it! But this is a secret!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Angelina also makes it! But this is a secret!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Angelina also makes it! But this is a secret!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Angelina also makes it! But this is a secret!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Angelina also makes it! But this is a secret!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Angelina also makes it! But this is a secret!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Angelina also makes it! But this is a secret!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Angelina also makes it! But this is a secret!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Angelina also makes it! But this is a secret!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Angelina also makes it! But this is a secret!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Angelina also makes it! But this is a secret!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Angelina also makes it! But this is a secret!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Angelina also makes it! But this is a secret!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Angelina also makes it! But this is a secret!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Angelina also makes it! But this is a secret!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Angelina also makes it! But this is a secret!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Angelina also makes it! But this is a secret!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Angelina also makes it! But this is a secret!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Angelina also makes it! But this is a secret!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Angelina also makes it! But this is a secret!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Angelina also makes it! But this is a secret!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Angelina also makes it! But this is a secret!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ya know what would work better? We should put shock collars on kids, that way, when they act up, we can just push the button and zap-lesson learned. You can even adjust the voltage for those stubborn little ones. If the collar had a gps chip, we wouldn’t even have to watch them, if they wander away–no prob we just tap into the gps and viola, found. Who said being a parent was a tough job? Idiots!!!!
Sorry about the triple posts.
Dick Cheney is that you again?
I do not care how many kids she has, that was out of line. She could have taken the whiistle away from the kid and put her in time out. Going postal and abusing the child in front of all those epople was completely out of line.
If these kids had a normal a mother who was more interested in rasing them than furthereingher career, there would be no need to abuse the kids.
I agree with you 100%!
Angelina also makes it!
But the secret is always !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Angelina also makes it!
But the secret is always !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Angelina also makes it!
But the secret is always !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Angelina also makes it!
But the secret is always !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Angelina also makes it!
But the secret is always !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Angelina also makes it!
But the secret is always !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Angelina also makes it!
But the secret is always !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Angelina also makes it!
But the secret is always !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Angelina also makes it!
But the secret is always !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Angelina also makes it!
But the secret is always !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well I remember as a child banging on some pots and pans while my mother was on the phone. I was seven to be exact and wanted a drm set (my father was a drummer), so I made do with what I could find. I didn’t stop because I was having far too much fun and really didn’t care that Mom was in fact on the phone. Well, I got a spanking… and you know what? I stopped banging on the pots and pans. Give me a break. Kids will run all over you if given the chance. A swat on the bottom is making Leah a victim of violence!
No matter how light or harsh the spanking is, it inately interferes with the childs “Fight or Flight” mechanism… which follows them through life. I’m in no way saying they are traumatized forever, but it does effect them physiologically.
Lets see here, 50 people around, kids playing outside, Kate on phone, 5 year old leah blows whistle. Should Kate hang up the phone, ask someone to watch the kids for a minute, take whistle away from chilkd, walk away from the noise ,walk up and beat her while terrifying the other kids and continue said call. Oh and was call more important than kid and fake party atmosphere you were trying to create.
Maybe if more parents spanked their kids we wouldnt have so many freaking bratty ass kids. You wanna know why your friends dont invite you over anymore once you have kids, its because no one wants to be around your kid who you have raised to believe has the sun shining out its ass.
Maybe it’s because I am from Texas but I fully intend on spanking my kids when they misbehave. My parents and husbands parents spanked us, and lo and behold we both grew up to be respectful contributing members of society.
Leave the lady alone, it’s her kid, she has the right to spank her if she so chooses. People who automatically equate spanking with abuse are complete and total morons. We should be paying more attention to those kids who are actually being abused and help them rather than condemn a mother for spanking her child, one in which we have no idea the reason for the spanking.
you were “running all over your mother” when you didnt stop when asked to. you only stopped when you were faced with physical harm by a much larger person. You didn’t learn to respect her b/c you love her and value her feelings, you learned to respect the fact that she was larger than you and could hurt you. not a bad lesson, but lets keep it straight here.
I wish that all of you that think it is ok to spank, would picture yourself as that small child being grabbed by this shrew, unable to defend yourself from the one that is supposed to love and protect you, Imagine how that child felt as her mother physially abused her and no one came to your rescue. Do you still think it is ok to ever lay a hand on another human being, especially in anger. There is never an excuse to hit a child, you have completely lost the plot if you resort to bullying byphyscially and emotionally hurting a small defensless child.
I didn’t learn to “respect her?” Really? You were there? As a matter of fact, I DID respect my mother as I grew older, and I respected that fact that she had to discipline me when I refused to listen to what she said that FIRST time but rather waited until the third or fourth time and was threatened with a spanking. I don’t ever recall looking at my 5′ 1″ Sicilian mother thinking “she’s so big she’s going to beat me.” I’m a well adjusted 37 year old woman that feels as though my mother wasn’t “violent” for keeping me from acting out by giving me a spanking. I grew up in Catholic schools and was paddled for acting out, or not doing as I was told and didn’t grow up “scared” of people or a violent human being. So let’s do keep it straight here…
I can picture myself as a small child and getting spanked. I was. And I’m a better person for it. I’ll go thank my parents for spanking me and teaching me the difference between right and wrong. Because sometimes I just didn’t listen and I had to be put in my place.
Right on Sister!!!
Not everyone lacks the self control that your parents had. You have to know when you’re losing control and remove yourself from the situation. There is a big fat broad line between spanking and a beating. I wish your parents had known what that difference was. Mine did.
I love the exaggeration you use “Spank the crap out of them.” No one here is saying “spanking the crap out of them” is acceptable. And yes, if my neighbor sees my child about to walk under their spooky horse after being told 3 times not to, then I fully support her popping my daughter’s butt to get her to understand the seriousness. I would rather her be popped on the butt than have her head crushed by an unruly animal. Duh.
Exactly!!!!!!!
i agree with your comment! thank you.
“Maybe if more parents spanked their kids we wouldnt have so many freaking bratty ass kids. [...]
Leave the lady alone, it’s her kid, she has the right to spank her if she so chooses. People who automatically equate spanking with abuse are complete and total morons”
you’re wrong. read “Base Instincts: What Makes Killers Kill?” by Jonathan H. Pincus.
Jesus Mary & Joseph, I was spanked as a child by my mother and by the nuns at school and I am the farthest thing from a serial killer… give me a friggin’ break!
And how’s your relationship with your mother? Just peachy, I bet.
As a matter of fact, she’s my absolute best friend and would do anything in this world for her. I would lay down and die for that woman. She brought me into this world, she’s not from this country, she worked two jobs to give me what she could, and raised me alone. She’s all the family that I have, so I guess you could say it is in fact “peachy.” I thank her each and every day for making me a better woman, spankings included!!
i think that you already have your break.
I love my life, and my mother and thank her each and every day. Some people could only be so lucky to have a mother like mine…
anytime.
Yes Captain America, I do.
Again, you’ve lost the plot. if your neighbor is close enough to spank thier butt. then they are close enough to get them out of danger and then YOU AS A PARENT need to make them understand that their actions were dangerous!!! I just dont get the reasoning. btw, why is your daughter around a “spooky horse”????? You shouldn’t be “telling her” you, as a parent should not let her be there unless you are sure she gets the message….again, parenting is not easy, dont take the easy way out.
I was only guessing that when you were banging on pots you were a child. maybe i’m wrong. and if you were a child (at 2-3 ft hight) a 5 foot woman would be much larger than you!!! and yup she did use violence to get her point across. it would have much harder to excuse herself from her conversation on the phone and properly take care of her child. i understand that back then thats how it was done. doesnt make it right. congrats for being a well adjusted adult….whatever that means
Me too!
ahahah the walmart spank — i love that.
haha, there you are again! it’s like black&white with us two.
i remember the jeffersons. and that most parents were smoking like a chimney and it was considered ok to do that and during pregnancy. well, time changes.
Yeah and I remember playing outside and having to be in when the streetlights came on too. It’s a moot point. I believe in spankings, but I don’t believe in beatings. A swat on the ass is far from abuse. maybe people should remove the rose colored glasses…
Well I’m 6 foot, so I wasn’t “too small”… so enough with the semantics. My point being is that I’m not a serial killer, I’m not a prostitute, never been to jail, have an amazing relationship with my mother, never been in an abusive relationship because I have enough sense to know better. You say “violence”, I say “spanking.”
Oh, and thanks for the congrats… I do pretty darn well having not been a piece of the above mentioned society because I got spankings… give me a break!
i knew this would be a huge discussion and 77 comments by now stated that! i just wanted to start reading all of them but i feel like these first comments just said it all and showed exactly the two opposite opinions you could have on this. i was hit (spank/smack is just a cover world for that. there is no “good violence”.)) by my mom and i sincerely wish i’ll be able to never raise my hand against my child when i have one.
good for you you prove to be a rare case where a parent didn’t need to exercise this form of discipline. you were protected and sheltered.
however she only spanked her on the bottom not upside the head or over the mouth with a stick or something.
Kids throw fits and test the waters. I don’t think that means they’re a bad parent bc you’re child throws a fit as long as it’s not a common occurance.
i think the previous anonymous i answered to was describing it as a general bad tendence kids nowadays often do i her/his opinion thus i aswered as i did.
missmarnip…you must not have kids…..EVERY CHILD throws some fits. If not, there might be something wrong with the developement of the child. Its part of life…children want things, or want to do things, parents have to decide what can and can’t go on, then the kids don’t like it and throw a fit. Then they get punished for the fit throwing…its how they learn that they can’t have everything they want…
and you must be new to this site (and to the english language) b/c i said for over a year straight that i have not given birth to one kid yet. i have just worked with kindergarten kids from 7-16 for years now and am an auntie to my sister’s child. it’s not always about pushing a child through your birth canal. motherhood, opinions and knowledge isn’t EXCLUSIVE to that.
go have a child, be with them all day long, go adopt a child…whatever your right you dont have to carry a child to be a mother, but being and aunt is different from being a mom…let mothers and parents comment to a parenting situation.
I want my kids to obey my out of love…not out of fear.
Good luck with that.
Yea Good luck with that. Some of these statements are stupid.
Look, the kid looks like she was just getting a swat. Any child is going to overract to the spanking. My mother could just raise her hand in the air and I would burst into tears and run out of the room. I only received about 3 spankings total in my lifetime, and just the threat would be enough to put me in my bratty place. Relax. This isn’t child beating, it’s showing your children who is in charge. Nothing is worst than a household run by a precocious 5 year old.
It’s OK to spank in my opinion. Spank not beat. When my son does something that is normal for toddlers and children to do like breaking a glass, writing on the walls, I don’t spank him. I use time out and warnings and reasoning, etc. But when my son tried to steal, I had to spank him to teach him it’s bad. Of course breaking plates and writing on walls are upsetting but those are normal childhood behavior and you don’t wanna take that away from them. But when they do something that is going to affect them as an adult like stealing, hurting the pets, lying, playing with knives, sockets, etc… you need to implement something that will remind them it’s not OK to do those. That’s when I spank him. And when I spank him, it’s a little tiny slap on his butt. I do not hit his face, head, etc… My father’s family is anti-smokers because so many of his relatives died of smoking related disease, so he told us that when he was a child, he was offered a cigarette and smoked and his dad caught him and spanked him. To this day, my dad hasn’t smoked one single cigarette.
I say spank ‘em! If a child knows a parent is powerless then the child is the one with the power!! A couple of swats on the behind is not abuse. I feel it teaches immediate respect.
that’s not respect, that’s FEAR.
To be an effective parent you can take away their priviledges, video games, tv, computer, playdates, activities and allowance etc but do not ever raise your hands to your children. Parenting is a tough job, following thru with threats, meaing what you say, losing privileges and consistency is key to forming well behaved kids, abuse in any form never works.
I was spanked several times as a child and even that didn’t always put me in my place. I’m not scarred and I don’t look back at it at all with any negativity. A child needs discipline by a strong hand on the tooshie sometimes.
My dad had to rub soap in my mouth until I learned a good lesson. Rightfully so, I lied about stealing.
Let me tell you, I never lied to my father again.
Well, I don’t know if I would have used my own kids as an experiment but you make some very valid points. I too believe that you need that end of the line this is going to cause you physical pain. The normal child only needs one or two and they’ve got it. My kids are in their 20′s and I can still stop them in their tracks with a look. They received spankings (not beatings) when they were younger. I don’t believe I ever needed to spank after the age of 7. Boundaries set at a young age last a lifetime.
I was raised by a single mother who turned to regular spankings to raise myself and my twin sister. She knew exactly where to hit and how so no teacher would know. We lived in a condo, and the next door neighbors never said a word even though they could hear everything. Every psychologist I’ve ever been to has told me that my mother never once crossed the line, and I disagree.
You may not think hitting your child is bad, but a judge thought it was bad enough to let me emancipate myself at age 15. It has certainly stayed with me though. The last time I saw a child get hit I ended up sobbing in a public restroom for 30 minutes. Think about the long term effects, it isn’t worth it.
What your mother did obviously wasn’t just a spank… if it was hard enough to leave a mark she was straight up hitting the crap out of you. There is a difference. I was spanked as a kid but it was just one swift thwap on the bum and never ever ever hard enough to leave a mark. Just hard enough to get my attention. I know many many many people that were spanked as kids, including me, and there are no lasting longterm effects. However, if my mum had hit me hard enough to leave a mark and did it repetitively then I’m sure I’d have some internal issues.
you make me so sick… i think i need to throw uuu……
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ok now, that’s better.
spanking your child just shows your weakness and your unability to deal with the situation like a mature person.
you always have a choice.
you can be strong without showing your muscles.
You are right i fully agree that spanking is perfectly ok after you have tried to reason with a child who chooses to not listen and continue to push the boundaires. Soaking does not beating the crap out of or bruising or abusing the child no that is wrong however to spank a child is not and has never been imo something wrong. Children today ahve almost no respect for their elders and no respect for their parents and are given far too much power, they can call the cops if the get hit, abort a child without parents consent, get given sex education far beyond their years are asked to drive so early, things that they don’t know the full consequences of. I was smaked as a child and it never hurt me at the time off course i cried and hated my mom and dad that is normal but as an adult i fully respect that course of action, it stopped me from repeating the same act and made me think a little beofer o did something, and learned to have a healthy respect for my parents
I think you have some valid concerns, but more times than not, spanking is not the only answer. What it really boils down to is how much time and patience does the parent have, and what are really the root causes for the behavior?
Don’t have time to worry about all that? You shouldn’t be a parent. Often-times overwhelmed parents feel as if they’re being victimized by their children’s behaviors. Very rarely does a parent stop and see what is truly causing the behavior – and that maybe they could have a major part in it (gasp!). And I’m not talking about the “I need a nap/snack/every day cranky” type stuff. Who has the time or intelligence these days to actually RAISE their children? Now, I have two children of my own, I am a working mother, and I very often struggle with finding that last shred of patience needed to make it through a day with my children without yelling or tears.
But whenever my children experience behavioral changes, for the bad, I ask myself: What are we doing that’s different? What has changed, is this just normal “kid stuff”, or is this reactionary behavior manifesting itself?
Telling a parent to spank a child that is unruly, more times than not, is like giving the parent permission to take the lazy way out of being a parent. Most children are not born “disturbed” or “unruly”, they become that way due to their environment – an environment where more than likely they are not being watched carefully enough, the parents work too much, the level of expectation as to the child’s capabilities (both mentally and physically) is overblown, the marriage is in trouble and/or finances are tight, and the parent’s themselves sorely lack in communications skills. Often times, parents who spank do it without thinking first, and use it as a technique of fear, not discipline. It is often times done in a moment of high stress and frustration, and actually teaches the child very little about what was WRONG with their behavior. My parents had a drawer full of “tools” they used for spanking. Some with holes drilled into them, an assortment of belts, a couple of whittled down 2×4’s. My step-father had a hard day at work and instead of reasoning through whatever chaos was happening around us, he’d open up the drawer and let his arm fly. Did we behave any better? Nope, we just kept on doing the same stuff. If pain is the only motivating factor to encourage good behavior, and pain is temporary, where is the REAL incentive to behave?
Another thing to consider – a child’s body is much more fragile than an adult’s. How the hell do you know you’re not doing it too hard? Parents/adults are not perfect, they don’t always use self-restraint – my mother had to pull my step-father off of my brother many times because he couldn’t stop himself. He needed to release something. He was stressed out, over-worked, had more responsibilities than he could handle, and couldn’t see past his OWN frustration long enough to do the kind of RESPONSIBLE parenting that actually raises decent human beings.
My brother now beats his children the same way, and they are THE BRATTIEST, unstable, loud-mouthed, misbehaved, physically raucous children you’ll see in public. It’s really quite embarrassing to be seen with them. So there…it can work both ways, can’t it? You communicate with your children like apes – they’ll probably act like it. And just because you’re the grown up, and they’re the underlings, doesn’t make it OK.
I also want to add, I HAVE spanked my own child. Once. He hauled off and kicked my 9-month old daughter in the mouth simply because she was “in his way”. He didn’t know any better, he was testing a new emotion obviously. When I confronted him on it, he laughed as if he didn’t know how to feel. I saw red after that! I gave him three firm swats on the butt and a four minute time out. I almost cried, I finally understood what it meant – “This’ll hurt me more than it’ll hurt you.” But I couldn’t stand to see my child laugh at such unacceptable human interaction. What hypocrisy huh? Don’t hit. So why did I do it?
I felt that surge of guilt coming up, but I didn’t let him see it. I told him that it hurts your heart to hurt another human being – or IT SHOULD. I told him it hurt my heart to hit him and it should hurt his heart to have hurt his sister. He looked at his sister’s fat lip and then started to cry. He was four at the time. And he hasn’t hit anyone since.
The moral? I didn’t JUST spank my child, and I didn’t walk away assuming I’d put fear into him and that was the answer to the problem.
I understand the dilemma now. This is the generation of entitlement – of hardly any rules and instant gratification. ADD is running rampant. So who’s to blame? Is hitting/spanking the answer? Is not doing it the answer?
Turn off your TV, computer, and you’re phones, take a day off from work and TALK to them…even if they’re only three. Be their teachers, set the example. I understand the futility of reasoning with a small child, but think before you act…don’t just react. And for the love of God – LIGHTEN UP! And now, this hippy has left the building. – Mandi
wow you turn your kids into a corporal punishment experiment and you hit them! I can see a parent of the year award in your future-what an idiot
Once in a while it’s okay to give your kid a little slap on the butt. But if your mother beat you so much that your neighbors heard, those psychiatrists are definitely wrong, and she definitely crossed the line. You shouldn’t just go straight to beating a child. You shouldn’t beat a child at all. Warn the child at least twice, if they don’t stop spank the butt. Spanking is okay. Beating is not.
You are completely wrong. I understand where you are coming from though.
Beating a child is horrible and often leads to confusion in the future such as being unconfident in themselves, and loving others of the same sex. Once in a while a pat on the butt is okay. Just don’t over do it.
i sooooooooooooooooo agree with u. i agree with every single word u say im only 15 and i wouldent no about parenting but i no that wen my parents disciplined me i never did wrong again…. and those snotty nosed “smart ass” kids that never have bin disciplined by a spanking have nooo respect what so ever… and i think people should layoff kate and let her parent the way she wants to as long as shes not beating the crap out of her child… and only disciplining her child lay off!!!
long term effect is worth it… as long as the child isnt bruised and it isnt to hard its fine
i totally agree with you. i am a young mother of 3 all under 3. and my husbands parents do not believe in spanking and feel that i am harming the child mentally.
your seniero also made me think. If you look at back in time when teachers were allowed to swat the kids with a ruler kids were respectful of the teacher. School kids are so misbehaved and disrespectful nowadays. i say go back to the ruler and the world would take a turn for the better.
it sounds to me that your mother was not spanking you. all the mothers on here that are saying they agree with spanking are actually refering to spanking. it seems your mother was abusing you and yes that is wrong. i was spanked as a child or so my parents say. i vegly remember getting hit.
children aren’t owned by adults and children of today are people who build/destroy economy tomorrow. if i were the economy i would BEG someone to guide parents of today what to do.
I was spanked constantly as a child. I was a horrible child!!!! Did it hurt me later in years? NO! People who don’t spank are the ones who have no friends wanting to see them when the brats are around. They’re also the people in the stores and restaurants who disrupte others because they can’t control thier bratty imps.
I think that Kate when to far. I agree with Kate to a point, yes, she’s a mother even if the photogs are there or not, but she should have had the brains to take that child in the house to take care of the matter. This is private and not something the whole world should have seen.
you are scared because you live in a bubble and are sheltered
and you scare me….i hope you do not have kids
I totally agree with Kate… she’s first of all a mother… even if there’s paparazzi following her! I can’t understand while you are doing such a problem for this!! Spanking or not childreen is everyone choise and you can understand only if you have childreen!
I think it is preposterous to say that kids who aren’t spanked are brats. We have never spanked our child. She just hasn’t really needed it. That’s not to say we haven’t had to discipline in other ways, but hitting her was not an option. Many people have commented on how polite and well behaved she is. I really think it varies by child.
I find this rather ironic…when Kate use to give Jon her “love taps”, everyone was irate about that, but now that she is hitting her child, that seems to be okay with everyone? Go figure. Boy, Kate can relly stir-up the controversy, can’t she?
i’m 18 and my parents walloped me maybe twice when i was younger, and it was bloody effective. the threat of it was enough to stop me misbehaving a LOT of times and kids can be impossible– a couple of spanks once or twice in their lives is good for discipline and is hardly a beating
Jesus. 160+ comments? Nothing like violence against children to get the commenters riled up.
I think the funniest part about this – if only parents who don’t spank could see how bad their kids are from the outside looking in. It’s totally clear when a kid rules the roost. I believe in the “talk it out/use your words”, “time out”, and “taking away rewards” approaches, but they only work to the extent that the child is affected by them. For some kids it might work but for others, there’s no real consequence. I hate watching a parent have no control over their kid, but still insist they have a “well behaved child”. And it’s not enjoyable to be around and it’s not cute either. When you’re tired and you tell your child to go to bed and they counter with “I’m still awake, why don’t you go to bed” – that’s disrespectful and awkward as an onlooker! It’s like being around an untrained dog… it puts me on edge that the parent doesn’t have control. I’m sorry, but spankings are a way of the parent getting control. It’s a personal choice and while I’m not Kate’s biggest fan, it’s her call. Spank as you see fit, Kate!!
she did not just spank the kid’s behind – she fired her arm up for the hit – check out the pic and then the kid’s face after. abusive
wow u people are awful, and have no right to criticize.
Kids make faces like that all the time…especially when they’re throwing a tantrum which is likely why she was disciplined.
Haven’t you seen kids throwing a tantrum at stores. They would cry as loud as they can as if you are breaking their arms in two and they would crawl on the floor. So yes, kids make faces all the time.
Wow!
I don’t have a problem with spanking but I would probably use it as my last resort. What I don’t get is how some/many have already declared her guilty when we don’t know the whole story. The one question I do have is where the heck is Jon?
Okay, I can say from experience, as a child not as a mother! I am 21 now, but that is not the point. The point is that discipline does NOT mean hitting the kid. Violence is never the answer. You want your kids to respect you out of love not fear. If you raise your kids properly when you say no the first time you will never have to repeat yourself. And when you tell your kids one thing they will always listen to you. Disciple DOES NOT equal violence. If you have never been hit you don’t understand the LONG LASTING effects of this so called “disciplined”.
There is a huge difference between hitting and spanking. Hitting is a reaction to a child misbehaving, while spanking is controlled punishment for misbehavior. I don’t believe in hitting but spanking is very necessary. A two or three year old child who does not mind is a candidate for getting hit by a car or many other things that can hurt or even kill the child. At those ages they don’t understand when you tell them that if they don’t mind they could get hurt. They do understand a pat on the rear end though. People may think that this is harsh but it shows the child that there are consequences for not minding. And when you are yelling for them to stop as they run towards a busy road they will remember what those consequences are. Then, when you are feeling guilty for the spanking, you can remember it is in the child’s best interest in the long run.
There is a big difference between spanking and beating a child. There are times that a spanking is necessary. That is the problem with the kids today not enough discipline.
big stinking deal
oh honey, i DO NOT spank my kids and they have never behaved like you describe. I would not put up with it. If we’re in public and there is a prob. that talking to them wouldn’t solve………..WE LEAVE. When at home after a time out (for both of us cuz im human) we talk about behavior and what is expected. the next time we’re out, not a prob. if it is, theres’s not a next time…so it only took me 1x to teach each child that i mean business, they wont be invited back, they learned respect for me and the other people around them. and all of this was accomplished without using hitting as a tool…btw, when you are in public and you spank your child, it only makes them cry louder and longer, so there is no benifit to the public. just sayin
I’ve seen many children hit, slap, kick, pull hairs, push, shove etc (either out of frustration or out of curiosity) and they were never spanked by their parents….so the saying spanking teaches violence is bullsh*t.
spanking a child is NOT a lazy way out…..Not doing anything about it is!! Children needs discipline…parents have a right to spank the child when it is absolute necessary….I do believe in time out, taking toys away, sending him/her to their room, having a big talk etc….but when you’ve done all that and he/she is still misbehaving, you should be able to spank. spanking is not abuse and does not leads to violence. it teaches them consequence!
Consequences and spanking are not synonymous. An appropriate consequence would have been to take the whistle away from Leah instead of spanking her in anger.
I saw a video of Kate grabbing a tup by one arm only when the tups were tiny infants, and picking him up and transporting him that way as if he were an object, demonstrating no tenderness at all.
Posters are comparing kids who have no discipline to kids who are spanked. There is a middle ground. I am a single mother, too, raising 3 children. They are respectful, successful, and kind and considerate people. They respect others because they were treated with respect. They self-regulate because they understand the reasons for it. They do not obey solely out of fear.
For all of you who believe that a good whack alone will fix what’s wrong with today’s kids, I would ask…why do you think there are so many angry people today? Why is anger management so difficult for some people? Yes, some have had no limits on them when they tantrumed and were actually rewarded for bad behavior. But others have trouble controlling anger because they were “disciplined” in anger. Irratiionally. Without explanation. Without connecting the dots. Through fear.
Kids should be disciplined, but there are effective ways of doing it and counter-productive ways. Hitting in anger and frustration is never acceptable and always counterproductive.
I once locked my child under the kitchen sink for misbehaving…I woul never hit them though!!!!
Watch this clip where one of the kids asks for water and kate askes for a bottle of water only to drink it in front of her kid then tell her she can’t have any. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjohryb6xAU
I got spanked as a kid and I turned out just fine. I believe in spanking if it is necessary, but not the kind that would ever leave a mark. It almost looks like she is about to hit her kid in the face!?! I would rather see a mother discipline her children in public than let them run around like idiots terrorizing everyone while standing there pretending it isn’t happening. Sometimes I just want to go and give those mothers a good shake! I’m not about child abuse at all but a swift spank on the behind is sometimes needed as a reinforcement.
Disturbing. Very very disturbing. Why the hell would you lock a child in a room let alone under a sink where they can find many poisonous and choking hazards?
Hahaha really “If you raise your kids properly when you say no the first time you will never have to repeat yourself.” What kind of kid do you know that says oh mommy said no I will never ever do that again. C’mon. Children test boundaries, it is how they learn. Show me a kid that listens every time and I will show you a flying pig… it just doesn’t happen. Spanking doesn’t emit fear. Hitting and abusing a child is another case but spanking? No. It’s to get the childs attention and let them know you mean smarten up when a firm no isn’t getting the job done.
I was shocked at first when I saw the photos, but after reading the article and then thinking about my little boy, I don’t think Kate is beating her child, only spanking. They are obivously outside, so the girl was probably prety embarrassed and making a huge scene, that is why her face looks so horrible. I rememeber when I was a child and my mom would grab my arm in Wal-Mart because I was doing something stupid and I would just start yelling “help me help me!” like she was trying to kill me or something…gosh kids are so dramatic and senseless sometimes! I agree with spankings, not beatings.
Us magazine is disgusting. Ill never purchase it AGAIN. They are crucifying Kate every single week with a new Evil mean spirited Nasty cover story. I have no Idea who she ticked off over there or why, but someone wants her to commit suicide ASAP.
Spanking is not the issue, Its not our business how they choose to parent in private. The issue is they have no privacy at this point, NONE. And its ridiculous! why are they famous?? A TLC show? Leave These people alone!
I’m 30 and got smacked as a kid on the rare occasions that I went too far and I deserved it! I remember really hating my Mum when she did it, but it was for my own good and caused me no harm at all!
I was disciplined well and my Mum did a great job of bringing me up (on her own) to be well behaved and respectful.
Most kids these days are not disciplined well enough and this painfully evident in the disintegration of our society.
I don’t spank my children out of anger or frustration….I always give them warning….after strike 3 you’re getting it….it works like a charm….believe me my children will listen to me and do as I say. I only spank them when it’s necessary.
I was never, ever spanked as a child and I never went throught the horrible, rebeling teenage years! My mother knew that she didn’t have to hit me to teach me a lesson…it is call words and time out!
I will never hit my own children!!!
SPARE THE HAND…NOT…WORDS WORK WELL AT A OLDER AGE BUT THE HAND WILL GET RESULTS…MY FATHER USED A MINERS BELT AND IT BROUGHT BLOOD..I SAY U GO KATE
i think he is pulling your leg. at least i hope he is.
I’ll bet most of the people in prison have been spanked as children. Just saying….
ummmm no anonymous 8:24….most of the criminals that are in jail were either severely beaten up or were neglected or abandoned….I highly doubted that they acted the way the did b/c they had a couple of swap in the bum…..just sayin.
I beg to differ. Spanking DOES emit fear.
Or most of them could have been completely ignored, abandoned, or neglected. Just sayin’…
I think you both mean instill, not emit. Spanking should instill fear. Fear that there are consequences that are going to suck temporarily if you do something that you shouldn’t be doing. If you are spanking for any other reason, you are only trying to get your child to fear YOU and I have a problem with. THAT is abuse. Spanking to teach a lesson? Nope, no problem with that.
everyone has different views, but when you are in the public eye its totally different. she should have taken the child inside for the spanking! and just another thing, they claims themselves to be christians, but this didn’t seem too christian like to me…kate is cracking – i think she’s under too much pressure..stop thinking about yourself and sop taking your aggravations on your kids…kids are smart and pick up on things….they will test you when they know they can…so now its finally becoming a reality show…kate plus 8 and how she handles her frustrations…finally!
Nobody said being Christian is being without fault. Being human is the reason for that…
Do it to discipline, not out of anger. I was spanked when I did something bad. It didn’t traumatize me. Kids need to be taught right from wrong. Don’t beat your kids, but spanking isn’t automatically evil.
Puhlease…a spanking shows a child the consequence for an action that they were asked and or told not to do. It’s the line in the sand that every child wants and needs. Time outs have their place, letting things go have their place and giving a swat to the butt has it’s place. Kids will test boundaries, it’s their job. But the line in the sand is always there and it’s best for children to know it, to know the consequences of crossing it and to take the repercussions for their actions.
I have a 6 year old daughter and there are times she’s been spanked, time’s she’s been given a timeout and time’s when I’ve just let it go. But all kids have that look of shock and realization that what they did created that reaction. That does not make a bad parent. And there is a solar system of difference between a spanking and a beating! Do not confuse the two.
I honestly find this whole subject about spanking being child abuse and being wrong to be rather stupid. It’s a common thing for little kids to get spanked as a means of discipline, because a timeout really isn’t going to cut it. That’s just reality. I have a friend who dishes out some discipline when her nephew misbehaves. His mom does the whole “timeout” and “go to your room” deal. He behaves better for my friend than his own mother because he knows that he can’t get away with being a complete brat without facing the consequences. You potty train a kid. Disciplining a child is teaching them right from wrong, or even to mind you as their parent. When I was a child, I used to throw tantrums from time to time to get my way. My mom would issue either a threat of a spanking or the real deal, both or which would get me to stop. The threat alone was good as gold since it’s happened before. That in NO means makes my mom a bad parent. She was a single parent doing all that she could do and I was just a child who through a fit over not getting that stuffed animal. There is a line between spanking and child abuse. Child abuse would leave definite scars and bruises. Spanking leaves none besides maybe a brief red impression and the possibility that the child will learn from it. Discipline is a form of training.
In response to a comment made by luckystar asking, “Would you smack your dog for doing something wrong, your co-worker, or another relative??”
Yes, I would smack a dog for doing something wrong. Not beat but smack. Just a pat on the nose for peeing on the carpet as a puppy so they know that that’s a no-no and not to do it again. It’s called training.
No, I would not smack a co-worker. I’m an adult and they would be to. Depending upon the reason that led to me wanting to smack them, maybe it had something to do with them not being spanked as a child.
I’m not really a violent person, but the relative question depends. I would smack my cousin on the butt because she’s a head strong 6 year old who borders on disrespectful as times. But anyone else in my family, no. They’re either older than me or around my age. We were all spanked as kids but not often because often was unnecessary.
I think that a spank every now and again is ok. I am a mom and I have spanked my two children as they got older a couple of times. I only spanker their nutts or a smack on the arm not hard to leave a mark or in the room with other child that is not right. But if the rason she hit her daughter is because the child is making noise then that is wrong 6-33 years of age kids only make noise and ask questions when you are on the phone or doing somthing else. My kids do it and my husband too. That is a known fact and that is jut something you deal with being a mother! She should have just taken the whistle from her and then she would have cried but she could have told her she would get it back after she was off the pjone not just grab her that wat and hit her. You think she would know to do that being that she acts so damn perfect in the first place but like she said don’y judge a book by it’s cover! I hope she saved money because she is not going to be famous forever and I hope TLC realizes that they are losing points because they are the learning channel!! We should learn from them not turn from them. Kate needs to come back to reality and practice what ahe preaches.
I think sometimes a quick ,short smack on the hand or arm is necessary to make a child understand . When I was young, my mom did not let me have any pudding for the dinner as a punishment . And I should say ,that is useful!
Well good for you, want a cookie?
Oh, and one more “small” post. LOL Kudos to Kate for still being “herself”. The woman has a MAJOR stick up her butt in general, she needs to relax and not take life so seriously, but she is first and foremost a mom, and I’m glad she doesn’t hide her true self. As for my feelings on the “spanking”? See the looooooong ass post I just wrote up on probably page three.
I’m team “Kate & Jon” by the way. It takes two to make a marriage work. Playing the blame game is for the kiddies. – Mandi
give her a brake wow a spaanking it look like she slap her on the but she is stress out leave her alone i am a black women in a ghetto hood the discpline we do is spanking you on your rear or anywhere else .wow i got spanking when i was young because i misbehave and almost toke a candy of the shop counter to take home leave her alone she just stress out with 8 kids alone that a lot so give her a brake
While Jon & Kate are making some “life changing decisions,” are you helping or hurting them and their children? Better yet, what are you doing for your own marriage? Refocus the chatter to praying for this family, their healing, and find resources and tools to help strengthen your marriage.
JonandKatePrayers.com
I find it very interesting that why some people don’t belive in spanking their children they have no problem calling people names etc. as seen here with all the comments. I will throw myself out there and say I don’t see anything wrong with spanking a child when a time calls for it. I also don’t see anything wrong with first trying to talk to a child and explain things to them or even using time outs but those just like spanking don’t always work. Each child is different just as each parent and our parenting styles as well as beliefs are. There is no set way to parent a child that will work for every child as well as every family if there were we would all be using it. Now with that being said. I have heard parents that don’t belive in spanking and even got my own personal lecture on the subject and how I should not do it because it will hurt the child self esteem in the long run etc. I can also tell you that one of the worse things you could do is to talk down to a child and call them names and tell them they are stupid etc. These things can be just as harmful. My mother spanked us when we were kids but thinking back I don’t ever remember getting a spanking after the age of 5. I do remember however that before I went and did something I was no suppose to I thought about what punishment I would get if I did and trust me it kept me along with my sisiter and brother from doing it. With that said I belive everyone has a right to raise their children however they want as long as there is no abuse included that includes physical, sexual and even Mental.
GIVE HER A BREAK!!! I can understand when you have 8 kids under the age of 10, swift punishment is needed. She doesn’t have time to be checking if they are sitting in the corner. When a kid is misbehaving they need to be put back in line and your not always able to give timeouts and for somethings they don’t work. A spanking is not going to scar them forever, it just teaches them not to behave like that again.
i dont think spanking is a bad thing, if it is kept in control, a pop, and swift smack to the bottom isnt going to damage a child…go ask your grandparents uncles, aunts, etc. this world is slowly going down the drain because parents wont spank thier kids…next time a teenager is running amock, and crazy in a store, think to yourself i wonder if thier parents ever discipline them? People…parents, and adults need to grow up…im not a huge fan of jon n kate, i used to be till it started going crazy…but the spanking thing…come on people…beating is another thing…a spank is no big deal.
I never spanked my children (now 16 and 12 year old twins). The old “spare the rod and spoil the child” is used to justify hitting a child. I always thought the rod was the rod of correction used by the shepherd to “guide” his sheep. I don’t think the shepherd beat the hell out of the sheep! If you were in public and you saw a man hit a woman, if you saw someone beating a DOG you would be apalled, yet you can see someone who outweighs a child by 100 pounds hitting them and it’s called “discipline”. I’ve had people tell me “I NEVER discipline in anger! Oh please! EVERYONE I’ve ever witnessed hit a child was MAD AS HELL! You are just taking out your anger on someone smaller and weaker than you are and the worst thing is that it’s on the one who depends on you the most to care for them. As for you who experimented on her children by “hitting some more than others , my three children are well behaved and always have been. I’ve never received a reprimand from any teacher or authority figure. Why don’t some of you parents realize that just because corporal punishment was used when you were kids there is a better way.
I think it boils down to self control. I think everyone would agree beating the living daylights out of your kids is wrong. As long as you spank for discipline only and not to relieve your life’s frustrations, you are good to go. If you are the type of person who maybe has a hot temper and thinks they may lose control if they start to spank, then I would say just don’t do it. My brothers and I all grew up with the occasional spanking and we are all productive adults that love and respect our parents and other people. I use this (occasionally) on my own kids and I get a lot of comments on how nice they are and respectful. My kids are very close to my husband and I, so I know they are not fearful of us, just very respectful.
Sometimes our kids get the better of us,whether they really have it coming or not.I know consistency is the key in however way you are teaching or disciplining your kids.If time out is what you choose & it actually works than that would be a better way of disiplining of course.Not all methods work the same for every kid.Yes,I do agree that kids sometimes need a spanking,but really it should be the last resort.Spanking in my house along with time out never works.I seem to have to ground,take things away in order for it to really penetrate that I mean business,& not to get on my bad side.On another note,Spanking tends to hurt my hand more than their behind anyways…
No No No No NO! No not okay to spank your kids! Yeah it’s okay to spank your kids ever once in a while. But once THEY learn, YOU should learn too! I know, I am almost eleven, but I am the oldest of three sisters, no brothers!
My brothers and I were all spanked growing up, and we love our mother and stepfather dearly. In fact, all of my cousins and friends were raised with spankings as punishment. I think that parents have done this for years, but our views on child-rearing have changed so much since my generation. That said, I will likely avoid spanking my children.
1st off This is the most overrated family ever.
2nd is that yes kids should be spanked my mom spanked me she still will slap me if I mouth off at her. plus kids these days can’t take much they have padded playgrounds now.
I really don’t see what’s wrong with giving your child a spanking. There IS a difference between spanking and abuse. I, as well as many others may agree, believe that the problem with today’s society is that parents are too afraid of DHS and other agencies to give their children proper discipline. There are many children who respond to “time out,” yet there are many others who do not. Are we to just let those children wander around aimlessly, exhibiting uncontrollable behavior for the rest of their lives?
um, because it’s Mady that she’s spanking. the kid deserves it.
Spanking is wrong…sure along the way it may terrorize and frighten young kids like Leah but which one of you “good” parents care right? You’re not the one that has to feel it…oh no wait…you have an excuse for that too don’t you? Maybe instead of spending your time talking about how beneficial it is to spank your children and how much of a beating you got why don’t get your asses off the computer and actually go talk to them, maybe even care as much to ask then whether or not they like getting smacked around because they made a mistake. Spanking leads to children being taught that violence can be used as a FIRST resort and that leads to violent acts such as robbery, mugging, assault…yeah, there’s a model citizen. If Kate is willing to treat her daughter so savagely in public (whether under the influence of alcohol or not) how do we know how she treats them at home, off camera? Violence of any kind is wrong, intolerable and disgusting. Spanking is just another form of violence and should by no means be acceptable.
OK,
Kate DID spank her kid but really… Leah is cute and lots of people feel sorry of her but she kinda needed it. I mean think about it … if your child was being loud and interupting you, you would be mad. It did hurt leah but not THAT BAD! Leah is pefectly fine and that litte spanking(NOT HIT) will teach her not to interupt. If she would of hald back and slaped Leah… now that would be something to complain about, but people every DAY spank kids and we all know kate is famous but They need to LEAVE JON AND KATE ALONE FOR AWILE. They diserve a BREAK. If you agree please say.
Thank you
i was spanked as a child and im fine and i have a great relationship with my parents, and to all teachers that comment on how to get children to behave and dont think spanking is an option you dont have the kids all day so you dont know how they are out side of school. and to those who say that giving a kid a spanking is the same as hitting your wife or coworkers hard enough to go to jail have no idea what a spanking is. spanking is just a little hit on the butt not a punch in the face. i mean any one who is married dont you give your wife or husband a spanking to be cute or to show some form of affection.
I was also spanked as a child and i fully respect and love my Parents. Those little taps didn’t hinder my relationship with my parents at all. I agree with the people who think that the kids who have never been spanked are disobedient and spoiled. For example, there is a big difference between my younger cousin and I. He got time outs and I got spankings and he was the most misbehaved child I have ever met, he cursed at his mother at the age of 5 and she put him in time out and he would continue to curse at her through the whole time out. You teachers who have a comment on this blog really need to stop, to be honest your opinion doesn’t matter unless you have children yourself, being a teacher or aunt allows you to give the kids to someone else at the end of the day. You also don’t see how they are all the time just a short amount of time. Sorry to break it to you people who got traumatized from being “spanked”, guess what? You weren’t spanked you were out right HIT. If it was hard enough to leave a mark and you were told to hide it, it was abuse and your parents just called it a spanking. This brings me to my next point like the comment before me, spanking your child is not the same as hitting your spouse or co-worker, you don’t hit your child, you spank them. Like they said before if you spank your wife it’s a completely different gesture, and if you spank your co-worker you may headed for sexual herasment or there’s something going on between you two.
That stupid bitch. Broke my heart to see that. I despise people who hit their kids.
now how is this wrong everyone saw her dissapline her kids on national tv and everyone said ok shes just being a mom now that shes a “celebrity” its not ok to be the mom you were before i think this was an ok situation her child misbehaves and she spanks now you cant tell me if your a mom this has never happend to you only diffrence is your not put on the front of a magazine and riticuled about it
The punishment towards the child needs to make sense. When does hitting ever make sense? What does that teach the child? That it’s okay to hit someone when they’re not behaving the way you want them to? There is no reason to hit a child, especially where all can see. You not only hurt them, but you humiliate them and is that our goal as parents? Our goal is to teach them. So in using Kate’s example, when her daughter disobeyed her and blew the whistle after she was told not to, Kate should’ve taken it away. It’s as simple as that. Her action of hitting the little girl was in no way a form of discipline, but rather a reaction in anger and wanting to vent it on the child. I’ve never spanked my children and they’re very respectful, studious and very loving. We have a very strong bond. Though we don’t spank them, we are tough in our discipline and the kids know it. There are many ways to discipline your children in a tough way without yelling and hitting them.
I prefer that my children obey out of respect not fear therefor I do not hit them. Play the semantics game all you want but spanking is still hitting
and thats when you walk out of the store and give them and ass whooping for pulling that at the store!
i agree!!! i so completly agree with you!!
i agree all the way
haha funny the way u say it… but true..