Is Spanking a Correct Tool for Punishment of Children?
New or expecting parents have a lot to think about. For instance, what day care is their
child going to attend, which of the 30 doctors offices that they visited are they going to pick,
which babysitter, which crib will be the safest and most comfortable, and whether or not they
should get a new alarm system placed in their home. The one thing that is constantly debated is
whether or not parents should spank their children. Every parent either has a firm view or is still
searching for what is best for the child. Rarely does anyone have an apathetic view on this
subject. The truth is that spanking children is necessary to communicate to them that they have
At a day care in Irmo, South Carolina, the employees cannot spank the children. There is a
girl there that works mostly with children that are about two years old. Some of them can speak a
few words, but others can barely speak anything besides “no.” The other day this employee was
playing outside with them. They have a big sandbox that the kids love to play in. Three boys
named T.J., Brandon, and Kevin were playing together. T.J. and Brandon began throwing sand all
over each other and Kevin. They had sand everywhere: in their hair, in their diapers, in their shirts,
in their shoes and socks. No one likes to be the one who gets the sand thrown on them. So, Kevin
was crying while T.J. and Brandon continued fighting. The employee yelled for them to stop and if
they didn’t that she was going to put them into time out. The only reaction she got was that they
paused and then gave her a confused stare. Then, even as she was staring back at them, they just
went back to throwing sand everywhere. So she yelled at them again and the same thing happened.
So she put them in “time out” and they had no idea why they were being punished. These are not
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