I did both at different points when raising mine-alone mind you:) At first it was overwhelming-I would tan their hides on a daily basis:( but then with some help from a counsellor I decided to try the good behavior-reward system. It doesnt work in all situations and believe me-they were not perfect-but I saw a definite change for the better in their behavior:) Biggest reason I dont think hitting them works very well is because they grew bigger than me by their teen years and it wouldn phase them unless I used a baseball bat! lol My Twenty yr old son sees my crazy look and knows he better stop or mama gonna jump on top of him-yes I did that when he was 15 lol He was sittin on couch and I straddled his big a** and held him down until he apologized:)

another favorite was when he said "when a child turns 5 years old, i believe you have the right to hit em in stomach or the throaght!"

Sorry excuse me.its a old saying. Means if u spare the rod u will spoil the child.its out of the bible & gets taken the wrong way.wear that butt out.down here as long as it doesnt welp for to long& its in there rear end erea. Ur good to go.grandad was a principle. His paddle hangs on the wall.& yep holes for arrow dynamics

Huh? Snaching her up by the hair.....???? I dont believe in violence! ...I was raised very strict, got my a..ss whipped but i dont believe in punishment like you are talking about ......at all!!!

@PaulG7719: That 1 gets me all the time! Lol. Got to watch it now. :-))

@PaulG7719: what u r describing here is teaching ur child to fear u anot respect u . I want my child to respect me. I have never had to lay a hand on my kids never will. They kno w mama speaks im seriouds they have learned this through me being consistent i mean what i say i use time outs and loss of privillages like taking away dora etc. It works major thing is consistancy.the rules need to be clear and stay the same i was a single mom for the first 4 yrs and it can be stressful but remeber we r their as parents to teach our children i dont believe in any form of hitting one time we dont agree paul. Blessings witchy.

@Sammy2: this is my point! ill spank when my kids have it comin, but they usually are the sweetest kids.... but theyre 3 and 5 so the severest punishment is a swat on the butt and sent to bed. but if the boy ever thinks hes big enough to take me down hes gonna get put on his back anyway i can. the girl?? well thats a little different... when shes got that "im 16 and ill do what i want" attitude.... ooooohhhh youd better believe shes gonna sing a different tune when i slap some sense into her. you dont talk to your daddy like that! i love my babies and they really love me.... but for now they know daddy doesnt tollerate misbehavior.

@whoami: its cool man i knew what you were sayin.

There's a fine line between discipline and abuse... When my kids threw a fit i simply turned them around and smacked their ass in front of everyone 1 time and then they didn't get what they wanted... Acting out of anger is NEVER good

@heikeva: see.... im not gonna put up wth bloody tantrums when theyre of the age to know respect and are capable of giving it. this is the most extreme tantrum you can think of. i will not use that type of punishment if its just a small fit or something like that... trust when i say i know abuse.... i have back problems because of it. but there comes a time when the child absolutely needs to be shown that you do not fear them. as i said my kids are like gold and dont misbehave much, but when they do and time out dont work, bedtime dont work, taking away spongebob... etc..... thats when i will swat the butt.