Beating a child is sadistic!

How can any intelligent person think it is acceptable to beat a child with a belt? It is lazy, sadistic, and totally counterproductive. You are teaching the child to solve problems with violence, that you do not respect the child enough to communicate with them, and that you have no self control or dignity yourself. That woman should receive intensive counseling and therapy before living with her children again. And how could her supervisors allow her to continue working in that capacity, and condone her behavior? She should not be working with families when she is such a sorry example of a mother herself, with extremely poor judgment and obviously no anger management abilities. She should NEVER be allowed to work with children or families again. She is sick, lazy and dangerous to those around her.

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Submitted by Davids mom on Thu, 01/31/2008 - 8:56am.

Beating a child is sadistic - hitting a child usually gets his/her attention - and needs only to be done once or twice in their lifetime. Cosby's father was like so many in my generation; consistent in their expectation of their child's behavior; consistent in demanding acceptable behavior; consistent in giving praise for acceptable behavior . . .CONSISTENT PARENTING! Being a parent is not a part-time job. Those who learn the skill of communicating with their child - which includes LISTENING - probably will never have to 'hit' him! A police officer shared this with a parent. It is lawful to 'hit' your child with an open hand on his buttocks. Exercising this lawful form of discipline will probably keep your child out of jail!! . .and teach him to LISTEN. Listening is not as painful!

TruthSleuth1958's picture
Submitted by TruthSleuth1958 on Wed, 01/30/2008 - 7:56pm.

Gosh, my mom and dad are in serious trouble then! Hummm, well, they only "beat" me on the gluteous maximus so I guess they were just sick, twisted, and taught me to solve my problems with violence. Gee, thanks folks!


muddle's picture
Submitted by muddle on Wed, 01/30/2008 - 10:20pm.

Remember Bill Cosby's monologue about himself and his brother, Russell?

They would get into some kind of trouble, and dad would threaten to get "The Belt." He never actually produced The Belt, because the mere mention of it put the fear of God in them so that they stopped whatever it was they were doing. But they imagined it to be several feet wide with meat hooks, etc. (They also thought that their names were, respectively, "Dammit" and "Jesus Christ," because Dad would say, "Jesus Christ! What do you think you're doing?" and "Dammit, stop that!" One day Dad said to BC, "Would you get over here, Dammit?" BC replied, "Dad, I'm not Dammit, I'm Jesus Christ!")

That comedy worked on a generation that had been raised with non-abusive corporal punishment--maybe even "The Belt"--as a matter of course. An analysis today might suggest that Cosby's Dad was sadistic even to threaten such punishment.

I've seen a bumper sticker that reads: "It is never OK to hit a child."

I think that there is a standing moral rule against hitting any child.

But any plausible view of moral rules sees them as prima facie obligations, or presumptive duties. Sometimes the presumption of wrongness may be overturned by weightier moral considerations, so that one is justified in violating the rule. In the case of corporal punishment, sometimes it is simply the appropriate response--particularly when the child is being willfully defiant.

So I need a bumper sticker that reads: "Sometimes it is OK to hit a child."


Submitted by sageadvice on Thu, 01/31/2008 - 7:42am.

Cosby was good---not much anymore.

I normally don't like to read your PhD diatribes on much of anything, but I would like to see one you would write about whooping up on children.
Now, I will assume we won't allow idiots, nervous people, ignorant people, just cheated people, extremely poor people, and all parents or adults acting as parents, or 2nd, 3rd, and 4th boyfriends to whomp up on kids, especially under one-years of age!
Just talk abut people like you or me who never lose it!

Submitted by sageadvice on Thu, 01/31/2008 - 6:52pm.

I would appreciate it if you would leave out the "Old Testament" in your research! Way too much gore there for me. Throat chopping, pulled four ways with four horses (oh that was a movie), well, you know what I mean.
They even used the "jaw-bone" of an ass to kill thousands. Not interested in the Crusades slaughter either.

Mike King's picture
Submitted by Mike King on Wed, 01/30/2008 - 11:00pm.

Muddle, a fine retort on the art of parenting. I would assume the original blogger would have serious problems of being taken "behind the woodshed" of a bygone era.
The Cosby story portrays that the threat of the belt was usually ample warning to change childish behavior, however I would contend that it was used by the elder Cosby from time to time. Thus, making the threat real and certainly a deterrent.
No child deserves to be beaten, however as a proponent of corporal punishment, I remain convinced that a smack on the rear is appropriate from time to time.
Times have certainly changed and our moral compasses have shifted as well.
I am content with the results of my kids, as now they are grown.
Hopefully, should we be blessed with a grandchild, I will be fortunate to advise from time to time.


Submitted by CuriousBob on Thu, 01/31/2008 - 7:21am.

I couldn't agree more with Mike King & others who realize the difference between abuse and punishment. It was not often that I felt it necessary but, a pop on the behind is/should not be criminal. What is criminal is to do nothing and allow the child to make their own choices without meaningful guidance. Too often parents let the child "explore" to the point of doing things not socially acceptable. My children felt like others when growing up that I was a meddling parent because, I had the audacity to ask them "where" they were going and wanted to know with "whom" and the terrible "when" will you be home? That was all within pre-set guidlines for curfews and such....Funny thing though, they turned out pretty darned good, if I may say so!

Submitted by skyspy on Wed, 01/30/2008 - 10:29pm.

I bet the parents of the mailbox bomb bandits are wishing they had thought of it.

Sometimes teaching kids right from wrong keeps them from breaking major federal laws.

I was too afraid to commit a felony as a kid. I knew exactly what would have happened. The police and the FBI would have been the least of my problems.

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