There are two kinds of parents: those who have no problem spanking their children as a way of discipline, and those who have. This division is universal. Even research is divided on whether or not you should spank your child.
Depending on which study you read, spanking can either raise disciplined children or they could make them meek, submissive individuals when they grow up.
There is, however, a fine line between discipline and abuse. This 11-year-old girl from Bay City suffered from the latter thinking it was the former.
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Breaking down in tears, she told the court how her father beat her with a pack of frozen bacon while quoting the Bible. She was attacked by her father Jonathan Powell for 10 to 12 minutes, she said, during which he told her: “It's OK to do that, it's from the Bible. If you spare the rod, you spoil the child.”
“He was hitting me with his elbows, his upper arms and his hands,” she testified. “He was hitting me with frozen bacon and he was pushing me back and I fell right over the dishwater.”
The police were alerted to the alleged abuse after her mother noticed a bruise on the girl's left cheek.
Powell, who denies the charges, remains free on bond.
Punishment vs. discipline
We were all once children, and had our own experiences with discipline that we do and do not want our children to experience, too. But whatever your methods are, be sure keep in mind these things:
- There’s a difference between punishment and discipline. Punishment includes humiliation, corporal punishment, shaming, psychological isolation and even physical abuse.
- Remain calm. Act rather than react.
- Get the facts first. Even disciplining in haste can be wrong.
- Consider the child. Some children respond better to loss of privileges while others will remember better by doing extra chores or writing letters of apology.
- Focus on teaching life lessons. Don’t focus on the actual misdeed.
- Keep the past in the past. Once the incident is over and dealt with, let it go.
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