Timeout trumps smacking

I can think of better ways than smacking to discipline Mia. Photo / Supplied

Why would you want to hit your kids anyway?

I hate to bang on about it, but this smacking issue is not going away. Really, what parent feels good after hitting, or smacking (if you prefer the less hardcore term), their children?

It's like the big kid bullying the little kid in the school playground.

My wife and I have made a decision not to smack our daughter - no matter what.

One of the things I find strange about this wave of smacking hysteria is how, for some, a whack on the bum is justified as a "last resort".

You know, like a physical follow-through to ensure little Johnny does as mummy or daddy tells him.

What a cop out. Surely there are other last resort measures like timeout, or having an ogre-like tone to your telling off voice?

Yes, I can see it's tempting to give them a smack to ensure they know instantly they've done something wrong, especially if they've just run out into traffic and given you a major heart attack.

But from what I can see, much of the hitting that parents do stems from more than that. It comes from frustration, anger and irritation.

There's a culture of violence in New Zealand - we all know that. We so-called 'cruisy kiwis' are a hot-headed, angry lot.

Just take a drive for 20 minutes and I guarantee you'll witness some kind of road rage, most likely over something entirely petty.

And it also pays to avoid making eye contact with any of the young pimp-rolling punks that wander the streets, because, well, you never know how they might react.

I'm not saying parents with smack-happy discipline methods are akin to street thugs. But I just can't understand why someone needs to raise a hand to a young child.

Kids will be kids, and to borrow a line from the Who, the kids are alright, even when they're being a bit naughty.

When I was little - and this is back in the day when my uncle jokingly used to threaten to thrash us kids with barbed wire if we didn't do as we were told - I remember friends getting smacked, often repeatedly.

I can't recall anything highly abusive, more like when they swore or mouthed off and their dad would smack them on the bum all the way into their bedroom. Maybe with a boot up the bum for good measure.

Times have changed, for the better, but unfortunately not that much.

I admit I'm relatively fresh at parenting because Mia, my first child, is only 20 months old, so who knows what the future holds. But as far as I'm concerned there are other alternatives to smacking.

I can't bear the idea of physically hurting someone I love so much.

Which is why timeout is in vogue at our house.

- Scott Kara

Pictured above: I can think of better ways than smacking to discipline Mia. Photo / Supplied