"Reality can be formed through language. If parents want to hit their child but know it would be wrong, they may invent more acceptable language around the abuse to make it more acceptable. Words like “swatting” serve to disarm the hitting behavior for the parent and the public. “I give my son a little swat when he misbehaves,” is much easier to swallow and more tolerated by others than, “I hit my daughter when she misbehaves,” which triggers concern, instinctively and appropriately so. You can call it “swatting,” you can call it “the gracious hand of guidance,” or “rainbows and butterflies” for all I care - it’s still hitting. “Well, I was spanked and I turned out fine.” Children can be resilient. Some children are forced to endure all kinds of experiences that are not in their best interest and some of them turn out just fine. Many of them do not. My father has said, “We never had seat belts and we all turned out fine,” to which I respond, “Except all the kids who died in car accidents aren’t here to say they didn’t turn out fine.” You are not the same person as your child. Each of your children will be vastly different, containing within them varying attributes of risk and resiliency. Just because you walked away from physical abuse and a parenting style based on fear does not mean that your child will." ohanawellness.net/articles/Spanking.html
Posted on: Thu, 12 Sep 2013 18:56:34 +0000