Nowadays people ask different things about whether or not to spank children while disciplining them. There are many who see it as a punishment like anything else but there are also others who feel it is out of date and harmful to children. Of course, when we talk about hitting children, we are punishing them with ordinary syicks that do not hurt them, so it becomes abuse because child abuse is prohibited and punishable by law. Some of the things parents should consider before deciding whether to use the cane to discipline their children are:
– What caused the child to make mistakes (hungry, fatigue, sleep)?
– What does the child think about what happened?
– Don’t I want to hit him because I want to get angry?
– Don’t I want to beat him to get rid of the shame?
– Do I stop hitting the child because what the child did makes me feel bad and I don’t know what to do?
– Will my child testify that you love me as a parent or will he feel that I have offended him.
– Am I not looking for an easy way to solve the problem the child has to make it easier but in reality it does not teach the child anything? Is there no other form of punishment that teaches a child better than the cane?
– Did the number of times I punished this child with a stick change him?
– Isn’t beating the children or other punishments to hurt him (kneeling, etc.) the only ones I know?
These questions will help you determine if the discipline you want to use is appropriate. The important thing is that you keep in mind that the purpose of discipline is to teach the child not to hurt him so that he is afraid of making mistakes, that is to stop him from always being afraid.
There are many who follow the Bible because there are places where it allows parents to use the rod to punish children, but the Bible also says that a person who loves God will listen to His word. It shows that love and obedience go hand in hand. So a child’s discipline or disobedience may be related to perhaps feeling unloved. Elsewhere does Paul ask, do you want me to come to you with a rod, or with love and kindness?
So after looking at these questions it is up to you as a parent to decide whether to punish your child with the cane or not. As parents learn how to talk to their children and show them more love, they find that the frequency of using the cane to discipline children has decreased.
Let’s not end without saying that hitting in the wrong way is harmful to the child as well as hitting him badly, yelling, punishing him by using words to embarrass him and other things that you do not with the purpose of raising the child but with the purpose of discouraging him.
