As most of us did, I got spanked as a child. There was no question about it, no "time-outs" were given out ... I got spanked. And as I got older, I got "beat". Now, as a parent myself, I can only raise my children by the standards that I was raised by, and I am a child spanker.

My son is 2. He is at the age where he is learning right from wrong, and the actions that I encourage / discourage are going to start making the framework for the type of child he will be. If I dismiss his tantrums, his hitting, his biting, his disobedience, or any other negative behavior that he displays, I fear that he will be one of those children that we see in the mall / grocery store / misc. public place that is bossing his mother around ... or even worse, one of those children on Maury that is beating on his mother. I refuse.

When my son tells me "no", which is his current favorite thing to do, or throws one of his toys across the room at me, or pours his entire cup of juice on the table and starts playing in it (although I have told him to stop) do I say "No, baby, don't do that"? No. I pop him on his bottom. Now, at the age of 2, I don't think that this is inappropriate. His Pull-Up absorbs the majority of the shock, and all he is left with is a bruised ego.

Now, don't get me wrong. Everything that he does "wrong" does not warrant him getting popped. I speak to him firmly / sternly, and have even started teaching him what it means when I give him "the look". But guess what? Because he has experienced a few butt pops in his time, if he is getting ready to do something, or in the midst of doing something that he shouldn't be doing, when I say "Stop before I pop you" or "Do you want me to pop you?" he usually stops. Does that mean that it is possible that within the next 2 or 3 years I will be able to stop spanking him? Probably not, because he is a child, and he will always, always, always test those boundaries that have been set.

There has been extensive (62 years of it, to be exact) research done of spanking and the effects that spanking has on children. As a child that was spanked, that comes from a family that was spanked, I find it HARD to believe some of the things that are being said. Dr. Phil says on his website that "Weaker associations for spanking such as a failure to learn right from wrong, subsequent criminal behavior, mental illness, and child or spouse abuse as adults, have also been suggested." Again, I was spanked. I know right from wrong. I did not head down a path of criminal behavior. I am not mentally ill, nor do I abuse my children or my mate.

I read an article where a mom said that she believes that spanking her 2 year old is warranted in some situations because a 2 year old can not be reasoned with ...  boy is she right!! Jaysson is 2, he doesn't understand "don't stick that in the socket or you'll get electrocuted". What he does understand is that if he is about to do it, and I start walking in his direction with a certain tone in my voice that will be emphasized by a swat on his behind that he better not do it. And that is what I want. I want him to get to the point where he knows, simply by the tone of my voice, that whatever he is about to do is wrong ... or even potentially dangerous. And hopefully, by the time he turns 12, I can end it all by simply saying "I'm gonna beat that @%$" (LOL)

Seriously, though ... to spank or not to spank? What's your opinion? Were you spanked as a child? And of so, do you think that it has had any negative effects on you?