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A lot of people today believe that corporal punishment is violent and abusive as such. In their eyes, spanking children as a disciplinary method belongs to the past and should be outlawed in modern society. Other people say that corporal punishment is not necessarily abusive. There are acceptable forms of spanking which can be rated "nonviolent" and "nonabusive" - it depends on how the spanking is given.
Quote:"The critical issue is how spanking (or, in fact, any punishment) is used more so than whether it is used. Physical abuse by an angry, uncontrolled parent will leave lasting emotional wounds and cultivate bitterness and resentment within a child. The balanced, prudent use of disciplinary spanking, however, is an effective deterrent to aggressive behavior with some children." (Dr. Den A. Trumbull, M.D. and S. DuBose Ravenel, M.D)
Why the need for this website? Fact is, in most parts of the world, spanking is still a commonly used parenting tool. However, most parents are uneducated in terms of how to/how not to spank, and many use spanking inappropriately. Who suffers from this lack of information? The children, of course. This website is a first small attempt to help by providing "how to spank" information. It does not discuss whether spanking should be used or not. There are already dozens of other websites and hundreds of books devoted to that question.
Please note that this website is not intended to encourage spanking, but to discourage abusive spanking. The idea is to help reduce child abuse by educating parents. If parents follow the guidelines of this website, they are likely to be on the safe side. Parents who exceed the recommendations given here may hopefully come to realize they are overdoing it.
For theoretical background, please take the time to read the essay "Spare the Rod?", from which the above quotation was taken. For recommendations on the practical aspects of spanking, see the various sections of this website. For a list of related web resources, see "References and links".
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