Better Alternatives Exist

Exactly! Let children know what yu expect from them. Let them learn patience and control and kindness instead of letting them learn how to hit and scream and lose control.

I think spanking is ok in moderation. If possible, I think parents should try other methods of punishing their children first, and if that doesn't work then they can spank them.

Spanking IS a consequence. When i was younger and i was bad my mom would say "You don't want me to get to three!" Then she would start counting. . . ."one. . . twwwooooo. . . " and i would stop every time before she got to three. In fact she still does it today. Why does it would i don't know - but plain and simple: it does.

What happens when those alternatives to spanking don't work? Sometimes, as a last resort, spanking is the only effective means of teaching children how to behave. A child who isn't spanked often obviously won't enjoy a swat to the rear and will most likely learn from their mistakes so as to avoid the unwanted spanking. Of course there are better ways to handle a situation when a child is misbehaving but sometimes the situation demands a slightly harsher punishment. It really depends on knowing your child and knowing what methods are effective and reasonable.

There are better alternatives to every kind of punishment. They frequently require going back in time, or replacing the child with an older child, or using some kind of physical restraint that is just as likely to be harmful. No one is suggesting that spanking should be the centerpiece of child rearing - the punishment of choice. You are making the difficult argument - NEVER.

Llantha is right, CED fails to address what the possible consequences are in their "positive discipline" solution. Wouldn't spanking be one of them, and if so doesn't this solution for parenting go before the spanking and really not replace it?

@llantha
"Am I missing something here? "

Yes, you're oversimplifying. Other societies, with much less spanking than ours, have less violence in their societies. If what you say is true, they wouldn't.

If spanking is so evil, and children need society's protection, how come the lawless behavior of children has continued to increase with the increasing involvement of the state in family dynamics? Obviously if the No Spanking dictum was actually the best way to go, then with the increasing inability of parents to strike their children for anything (without getting arrested for a crime) the behavior of children should become more orderly and less violent. Am I missing something here?

EOM