Should parents avoid [physically] disciplining their children in public?

We've all seen mothers lose it on their kids at supermarkets, parks, etc., etc., and tear their butts up in front on the crowd of onlookers. What's your opinion of this? Even if you're in favor of corporal punishment, do you think that this should be done away from spectators to avoid a scene?

Eh, it might be necessary sometimes although I'd avoid making a scene about it. However, it can't be totally off the table cause then kids will take advantage of it.

Forgiveness Man wrote:Eh, it might be necessary sometimes although I'd avoid making a scene about it. However, it can't be totally off the table cause then kids will take advantage of it.

This^.

Chris wrote:We've all seen mothers lose it on their kids at supermarkets, parks, etc., etc., and tear their butts up in front on the crowd of onlookers. What's your opinion of this? Even if you're in favor of corporal punishment, do you think that this should be done away from spectators to avoid a scene?

That's what my wife said her mother did with her 4 kids. If their behavior got to that point, she would take hold of their arm and tell them quietly through clenched teeth, "Just wait until I get you home," and let them sweat it out until the beating came in the privacy of their own home.

If you've lost it to the point where you feel the need to strike your kid, please do it out of my sight. I don't want to watch. On the other hand, I can't stand when parents let their children run wild in public either.

alan smithee wrote:

If you've lost it to the point where you feel the need to strike your kid, please do it out of my sight. I don't want to watch. On the other hand, I can't stand when parents let their children run wild in public either.

This ought to go into the I hate it when thread, but, following this comment, I HATE IT when parents bring their screaming brats into the stores and don't shut their kids up and the whole time you're there you can hear some kid off in another part of the store bawling like a brat. I'm in full favor also of stores enforcing no-brats policies that kick them out.

If it all possible, but sometimes the situation is so extreme that the slap can't wait for the car.

You shouldn't beat the kids butt repeatedly, lest some onlooker calls the cops on you and you have to got thru children protective services scrutiny.

I had an 8-year-old nephew living with me once and he refused to take a bath one night. My daughter or wife were having no luck with getting him to take a bath. I grabbed his little skinny arm with one hand, smacked his butt once with the other and took him to the bathroom. He got in the tub. I think he was just testing limits and I gave him the security of showing him how far they went. That is the only time I ever hit him or any kid.

I have seen kids totally out of control in public and wonder if just one smack on the butt would get them back down. In those cases I wish the parent would give it a try.

BTW, I was raised in a time when "Spare the rod spoil the child" was the child rearing axiom. I was not spoiled, nor did I need the rod too often. My mom used a belt on us and I think no one would have intervened in those days if she did it in public.

There are times I've looked at a kid and wished the parent would give him or her a good swat on the behind, but in this day and age, it would be REALLY hard to not have someone call the cops on you or report you. This one time I was at the grocery story and a family was there with two boys maybe 6 and 8. These kids were rolling on the floor and yelling and screaming and wrestling with each other and running around and the parents were doing NOTHING to control them. They were behaving like complete hooligans and it was disgusting watching the parents ignore the boys. I almost went to eh manager, as it went on for quite awhile. They are bumping into things and my concern was that they'd roll into or bump an elderly person and really hurt them.

I was pretty lucky with my son and he never acted a fool in public, but I never tolerated even the slightest occurrence, and he heard about it the whole ride home. I would absolutely never, ever strike him in public, even a slap on the hand when he was a toddler. The reason is you just never know who is going to be trigger happy in calling the cops in such a situation.

When my son was one, we were in Ohio visiting someone. The news came on and they showed store footage of a woman who had her son's hand and was dragging him out of the store, with him trying to sit down, and basically being totally uncooperative. They were showing store video for that, trying to find her so that they could charge her. And literally all she did was drag him out of the store. That scared me so I thought to myself that I wouldn't even raise my voice in public with my son.

Don't like public spectacles of parents going off on their kids in front of people. I hope I'm able to have the words that will strike enough fear into my child so that I won't have to clobber him or her in public when they decide to act up.