I was hesitant on leaving my thoughts on this. I have to say, that I don't fully agree with the excuse, that parents are taking their childhood trauma out on their own child/children. Some feel spankings are just a last resort, because they do not have the resources on how to get the child under control. That does not mean they were abused as children. When I spanked my child,(which were rare), I did not think about my own childhood. I was physically, emotionally, verbally and sexually abused. Because I know it was wrong, I vowed to never do those things, nor let anyone else, to my own child, or any child. It is true that some do not pay heed that what they are doing is wrong, and probably are taking it out on kids. There are some parents who had great childhoods, but had felt the need to spank. There is a huge difference between abuse and a spanking to get a child under control, when all else failed.
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One of the things they teach in college research classes is that you cannot use yourself as a yardstick: you aren't a big enough database. Sounds to me as if you are avoiding your own feelings of guilt, explaining why it was okay to do what you did. Hey, we are all only human, and we make mistakes.
That said, a well-researched book has a lot more weight behind it than a personal opinion.
I was in no way avoiding feeling of guilt. As my child was still young, I found other means of correcting the behavior, because I learned it had more impact than a few swats. and I did feel guilty for bringing pain, even if it happened only a few times. But that doesn't mean I was hitting because of what I went through. I just feel like people need an excuse to blame reactions on anything. I also know of someone who grew up abused, and they never put a hand on their child.
If I knew then what I know now, on other means of helping them get control behavior, I would have done things different.