Why do tv shows promote the spanking of children?

[teen-machine]

I see so many shows where the parents spank the kids and it is seen as okay and good. Spanking is abuse and should not be promoted on tv shows. The most recent show I saw where the parent spanked was an episode of the show Benson where the governor on there spanks his little girl Katie because she lied about something. And he was promoted as being a good father because he spanked her. He is an abusive bastard!!

[Zoneboy]

I see so many shows where the parents spank the kids and it is seen as okay and good. Spanking is abuse and should not be promoted on tv shows. The most recent show I saw where the parent spanked was an episode of the show Benson where the governor on there spanks his little girl Katie because she lied about something. And he was promoted as being a good father because he spanked her. He is an abusive bastard!!


You really need to drop the attitude problem. I can't give you an honest reply in regards to the Governor because I've never seen Benson. Did he spank her with an open hand, a belt or what? I got spankings all the time as a kid and it wasn't considered abuse but in this day and time it probably would be. Just because Katie got a spanking doesn't mean he was a bad father. Andy Taylor often threatened to give Opie a spanking and he also stuck his foot in his mouth more than once when it came to Opie but overall, Andy was a good father and no spankings ever occurred on the show.

[teen-machine]

The governor spanked Katie with his open hand while she was bent over his knee.

[Zoneboy]

The governor spanked Katie with his open hand while she was bent over his knee.

Beating a child with his fists would be considered abuse, A spanking on the behind hardly qualifies.

[teen-machine]

Yea but when he spanked her on her behind you know it did hurt. That is abuse.

[robyrob]

what is your obsession with this topic? you didn't get the answer you wanted to hear in the other dozen threads you created so you thought you'd just keep trying?

spanking is not abuse - it is a NECESSARY form of discipline, that is sorely lacing in today's society. The whole "time-out" idea is ridiculous and uneffective.

[teen-machine]

Hey robyrob I think you need to work on your spelling! And spanking is abuse. The governor was so stupid he didnt even know when to spank his daughter. He was so stupid to think spanking was okay for him to do.

[Zoneboy]

Like robyrob said, A spanking is not abuse. To me, calling a child names like stupid and retard is more abusive than a spanking. A few whacks across the butt only hurts for a short time if at all but words can hurt much longer. I know because I went through it. I got my share of spankings from my father and most never hurt but he would also make fun of me and call me names because I was a slow learner as a kid and that hurt more than any spanking he could ever have given me.

[teen-machine]

But why would he want to hurt her even for a short time by spanking her behind?

[Zoneboy]

Hey robyrob I think you need to work on your spelling! And spanking is abuse. The governor was so stupid he didnt even know when to spank his daughter. He was so stupid to think spanking was okay for him to do.

You need to work on your attitude and complaining about someone's grammar isn't allowed here.

[Zoneboy]

But why would he want to hurt her even for a short time by spanking her behind?


Oh for God's sake, Do you really believe that the Governor actually wanted to hurt his daughter? If you really have an issue with this then your complaint should be with the show's writers and not the Governor.

[teen-machine]

Why else would he spank her if he didn't want to hurt her?

[Zoneboy]

Why else would he spank her if he didn't want to hurt her?

D-I-S-C-I-P-L-I-N-E

[teen-machine]

But he couldn't discipline her without spanking her?

[Will and Grace Fanatic]

i believe there are times when it is ok to spank your kids. It however should not be a daily thing and should only be done with a bare hand. I do not consider it abuse. But i don't beleive all shows promote it. On an episode of Roseanne she spanked DJ and felt so bad after. It did not promote the spanking at all.

[teen-machine]

The governor should be jailed for spanking poor little Katie. Did he think that paddling her backside was going to make her learn not to lie?

[Adamantium]

I got spanked when I was a kid, and it was comforting for me to know that some of my favorite sitcom characters also got spanked.

[Zoneboy]

The governor should be jailed for spanking poor little Katie.

Jail is for those that actually abuse their children. If every parent who spanked their child on the behind was thrown in jail the prison system couldn't hold them all.

[JRDM]

Governor Gene Gatling was a GREAT father. He was among the best tv dads. I would love to have him as my dad. He was not abusive to Katie. He just disciplined her because he loved her.

[Dusty's Fan]

When I was in grade school, one of the teachers would paddle each student on their birthday, one hit on the behind for every year celebrated (like 12 times once the 12th birthday was reached). You can call that what you will, but no one really suffered at all. And the police officer assigned as a paraprofessional regularly banged a paddle on the table in the lunchroom.

Today, the above would have parents seeking their lawyers -- BUT, we also have far more disrespect among students who smartmouth authority figures. I live across from a middle school, and I've personally had problems with teens causing damage to my property and refusing to heed my warnings to leave. Lack of discipline in the homes and in school is having detrimental effects. What about the way delinquents are abusing others and property?

[wkomorow]

The boystown national hotline 1.800.448.3000 provides confidential highly competent counseling for both parents who need to talk because they are angry and to teenager who feel they are being treated unfairly.

In terms of the general topic, there are many of us who firmly believe that hitting is never appropriate. My parents did not believe in physical punishment and I personally would never think of it as an option.

[robyrob]

Hey robyrob I think you need to work on your spelling! And spanking is abuse. The governor was so stupid he didnt even know when to spank his daughter. He was so stupid to think spanking was okay for him to do.
are you seriously attacking my spelling over a simple TYPO?

aside from the fact that it is against the rules of this message board, it is a pretty ineffective way to try to win an argument - it pretty much says that you have nothing valid to prove your point.

[robyrob]

The boystown national hotline 1.800.448.3000 provides confidential highly competent counseling for both parents who need to talk because they are angry and to teenager who feel they are being treated unfairly.

In terms of the general topic, there are many of us who firmly believe that hitting is never appropriate. My parents did not believe in physical punishment and I personally would never think of it as an option.
i have nothing against someone choosing not to discipline their children with spanking - I think it should be up to the parents to decide how to discipline their own children.

...but this is totally different - teenmachine is trying to claim that one simple open-handed spanking over a period of the seven years of the show is somehow child abuse that calls for jailtime.

[Stuck In The '70's]

The boystown national hotline 1.800.448.3000 provides confidential highly competent counseling for both parents who need to talk because they are angry and to teenager who feel they are being treated unfairly.

In terms of the general topic, there are many of us who firmly believe that hitting is never appropriate. My parents did not believe in physical punishment and I personally would never think of it as an option.
That's your right but simple spanking is not abuse. I was spanked. I had friends that were spanked and we were not abused. That's the problem with parents these days. They don't want to discipline their children. Time outs don't always work. I go out to the store and restaurants sometimes and I see kids going wild. Parents let them do whatever they want. When they do say something, the kids ignore them. It never used to be that way. Kids use to have respect for their parents.

[Chocoholic]

I personally do not believe in spanking. I consider it violence and violence never solves anything. Timeouts and taking away privileges are far more effective punishments. The problem with kids today is that too many parents just can't be bothered to discipline their children and set boundaries and instead overindulge them and try to be their best friend, not because they're not being spanked.

I would never spank a child at the school I work at, even if it was allowed.

[Stuck In The '70's]

I personally do not believe in spanking. I consider it violence and violence never solves anything. Timeouts and taking away privileges are far more effective punishments. The problem with kids today is that too many parents just can't be bothered to discipline their children and set boundaries and instead overindulge them and try to be their best friend, not because they're not being spanked.

I would never spank a child at the school I work at, even if it was allowed.
I don't believe in School Teachers spanking students though. I didn't like seeing it when I was in school and I do think that was a kind of abuse...they didn't use their bare hands. They used paddles. I don't think anyone has the right to put there hand on a child other than that child's parent . The Parent also should never spank a child in a fit of rage or anger. There are limits but simple spanking is not abuse.

[Seth]

If spanking is child abuse, then pretty much every parent who raised a child from 10,000 BC onwards through to about 15 years ago (when this anti-spanking nonsense really took hold) would probably need to be jailed.

Kids, left to their own devices, are generally little hellions - and occasionally need a nice little hit on the backside to set them straight. I seriously doubt it's coincidental that the rise of unruly kids with no regard for authority whatsoever ties in almost perfectly with the decline of spanking as a form of corrective discipline.

Also, speaking of corrective discipline: I'd just like to throw out a friendly reminder that Sitcoms Online discourages secondary "alternate" accounts, especially when the two accounts interact with each other. ;)

[comedyfreak]

Like the old saying goes, spare the rod spoil the child. Spanking won't hurt kids it teaches them to stay within certain boundaries.

[charlie_voy]

Hardly any shows promote spanking any more, but it is not abuse, and with your attitude you sound like you could use some of it!

I see so many shows where the parents spank the kids and it is seen as okay and good. Spanking is abuse and should not be promoted on tv shows. The most recent show I saw where the parent spanked was an episode of the show Benson where the governor on there spanks his little girl Katie because she lied about something. And he was promoted as being a good father because he spanked her. He is an abusive bastard!!

[Furienna]

The thing is though, that spanking easily can become abuse. So I think disencouraging spanking is important. Some parents are unable to "just give the child one smack on the behind" without taking it too far, and I rather have parents finding other ways to discipline their children. But of course, over here in Sweden, spanking has been illegal since 1979, so we have a different attitude against it than what Americans have. And yet, most children here don't become "unruly" or "hellions".

[charlie_voy]

The thing is though, that spanking easily can become abuse. So I think disencouraging spanking is important. Some parents are unable to "just give the child one smack on the behind" without taking it too far, and I rather have parents finding other ways to discipline their children. But of course, over here in Sweden, spanking has been illegal since 1979, so we have a different attitude against it than what Americans have. And yet, most children here don't become "unruly" or "hellions".

I don't agree that spanking can easily become abuse, nor do the laws here in America restrict spanking to "one smack". We define abuse, broadly speaking, as actually injuring the child. As for whether Swedish kids are hellions, I am in no position to comment, but I do know that a lot of non-spanking parents will tolerate all sorts of behavior that many spanking parents would find abhorrent, so there is possibly a question of higher vs. lower standards involved.

[Furienna]

Well, I have to admit, that I have a hard time understanding how someone can not see, that spanking easily can lead to child abuse. Violence can so easily get out of hand, especially if it's legal to do it. That's why spanking now is illegal in many countries. But then, this is a European point of view, that Americans might find hard to understand. Coming from Sweden, which was the first country in the world to make spanking illegal back in 1979, I guess I can't help seeing the American "spare the rod, spoil the child" view on this as really flawed. You can raise a perfectly well-mannered child without being violent or overly strict. I'm just really glad, that many other countries in the world have followed our lead in these last thirty years in making spanking illegal. And mind you, I'm actually a conservative Swede, especially considering my young age. I don't agree with most of the terribly liberal views, that our goverment stands for. And I don't fit that well into the socialist "opposition" either. But still, I'm a strong advocate of children's rights. I don't approve of parents being unnecessarily strict with their kids, and violence is not the answer to anything.

[charlie_voy]

Well, I have to admit, that I have a hard time understanding how someone can not see, that spanking easily can lead to child abuse. Violence can so easily get out of hand, especially if it's legal to do it.

Proper spanking is not violence. Violence is intended to cause harm. Spanking is controlled punishment intended to correct someone you love. They couldn't be more opposite.

That's why spanking now is illegal in many countries. But then, this is a European point of view, that Americans might find hard to understand. Coming from Sweden, which was the first country in the world to make spanking illegal back in 1979, I guess I can't help seeing the American "spare the rod, spoil the child" view on this as really flawed.

I'm no stereotypical super-patriotic American, there are many things I dislike about this country, but the fact that parents can raise their kids the way they prefer is one thing I LOVE about America.

You can raise a perfectly well-mannered child without being violent or overly strict.

Yeah, if you have the perfect child.

I'm just really glad, that many other countries in the world have followed our lead in these last thirty years in making spanking illegal.

I'm just really glad we haven't.

[cleverfun3000]

Here in New York, If The Child Services Receive a Complaint That You Spanked or Hit Your Child in ANY way, The Child is Immediately Removed from The Home and The Parent Jailed Until Time of Trial. I Know of 2 Families It Happened to in The Past 3 Years. It'a Always an Anonymous Call From A "Concerned" Neighbor.

http://i35.tinypic.com/ojfjp4.jpg

[Dragonflies]

IMO that's the problem with society, children act up and parents can't do much but give kids a time out, otherwise it's deemed "abuse".

I don't agree it's abuse. I got spanked when I DESERVED It for being a royal brat. When I was in school, the schools then could spank kids with a paddle.

[Stuck In The '70's]

Here in New York, If The Child Services Receive a Complaint That You Spanked or Hit Your Child in ANY way, The Child is Immediately Removed from The Home and The Parent Jailed Until Time of Trial. I Know of 2 Families It Happened to in The Past 3 Years. It'a Always an Anonymous Call From A "Concerned" Neighbor.

http://i35.tinypic.com/ojfjp4.jpg
Neighbors need to mind their own damn business unless they really see abuse. Spanking is not abuse.

[Furienna]

That depends on what you mean by "spanking". Many people can treat kids like crap and still just say, that they did it for his or her own good, or because he or she deserved it. People allowing parents to spank their children will leave an open field for child abuse. That's why so many countries have forbidden spanking. And I'm glad to hear about those regulations in New York. That's the start of a new era in the US, where also American children's rights are in focus. I rather have a few "false alarms" than have children being abused without someone being able to do anything about it, because it's a parent's right to disciplin a child as they please. But alas, many real abusers know how to keep it hidden, and the children are too scared to say anything. And people approving of violence towards children make it easier for them to continue doing it.

[charlie_voy]

Here in New York, If The Child Services Receive a Complaint That You Spanked or Hit Your Child in ANY way, The Child is Immediately Removed from The Home and The Parent Jailed Until Time of Trial. I Know of 2 Families It Happened to in The Past 3 Years.

I'm sorry to be blunt but you don't know what you are talking about. I agree that there are problems with Child Services but New York law like other state laws (http://kidjacked.com/legal/spanking_law.asp) does allow reasonable force in discipline, not to mention that the U.S. Constitution requires reasonable bail in criminal cases. That's not to say CPS doesn't act unreasonably or even unlawfully at times. But we need to be careful not to be alarmists.

CPS is no friend of mine, but the decision to arrest or criminally prosecute someone doesn't rest with them. I suspect you weren't told all the facts in the cases you mentioned. If these families need legal help, there is a group that provides advice and moral support in these cases, cp_prosecutions at yahoo. Have them google it.

[JT]

I'm sorry, but if the only way a parent can get their child to listen to them is by physically hurting them, then I think that says a hell of a lot more about the parent than the kid.

[Furienna]

:yeahthat

A child shouldn't be raised with violence.

[charlie_voy]

That's why so many countries have forbidden spanking.

Haven't you figured out that we don't want to be like those countries? I am generally the last person to be any sort of rah-rah-America type super-patriot, I'm pretty cynical about America, but I am ardently glad the government does not run families.

[Furienna]

And I'm not a typical liberal or socialist Swede either. I'm conservative, which unfortunately is very rare in Sweden today. But I believe in children's rights and children's safety. And no one over here in Sweden feels, that the goverment "runs our families", because we know, that you can, even should, raise children without spanking them.

[charlie_voy]

And I'm not a typical liberal or socialist Swede either. I'm conservative, which unfortunately is very rare in Sweden today. But I believe in children's rights and children's safety. And no one over here in Sweden feels, that the goverment "runs our families", because we know, that you can, even should, raise children without spanking them.

Well, we will always disagree, I suppose. I think it is interesting that in cases like this cultural differences can supersede left/right differences.

BTW an omnipotent state dictating parenting styles to families--especially when they have the power to remove children and house them with devil knows who--is not any guarantee of "childrens' safety" or, in my opinion, any help to it.