"Somebuddy gonna gedda hurt reeeal baaad!" Should we beat our kids? Or not?

hace 6 años

Hi fellow Verblingers!

There's a very serious side to this issue, for sure - but there's also a hilarious side to it. Let's be open to discussing both of them, but with the emphasis on keeping it light-hearted inasmuch as we can, eh?

Firstly, here's what the very wonderful Canadian comedian Russell Peters has to say about whether it's a great idea or not to "beat your kids": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gD1woa_Cbw

I was slapped, punched, caned, tawsed and kicked plenty of times by adults, and on two memorable occasions I was severely, savagely beaten (once with my Uncle Hugh's belt; once with my father's fists; on each occasion, the beater beat me until he was exhausted, got his breath back, then set about the task with renewed vigour; for what it matters, I was entirely innocent on each of the two occasions, but, hey, no system is perfect and my own experience of beatings is not a good reason to dismiss Russell Peters's advice).

But, anyhow, I chose, for my own reasons, not to hit my own kids at all (which was easy for me because, as a psychology graduate, I had developed some highly effective mental tortures which I adeptly applied on every occasion that my sons were ever not quite as respectful toward their mother as I strictly required them to be).

But, as a general rule, I do nowadays find myself somewhat persuaded by Russell Peters's charmingly-presented arguments, and for most parents following his advice clearly is better than most of the other options. ...But what do y'all think about it? Were you beaten as a kid? Do you beat kids? Would you recommend that other parents should beat their offspring?