Do you believe a parent should be allowed to hit their child?

i got smacked as a child , i would say it did me no harm or good either , but you must have discipline of some sort ... i never smacked my daughter coz she never gave me a reason to ... but it should be left up to the parent

i dont see anything wrong in hitting/spanking your child as and where appropriate i was hit when i was a child and i never ever got into trouble as fear of what disipline i would get scared the living daylights outta me i currently have 2 boys who of which i never ever hit unless i feel i need to i prefer to use other methods i.e sending them to their room,using naughty stair and even taking toys computer games away that way they learn without me having to hurt them physically, however if that fails after so many attempts then maybe a spanking is needed never done me no harm

Hitting, no of course not. A spanking when everything else has failed then yes. I know I was spanked as a child and hit with a belt a couple of times - and yes, I did deserve it, looking back. Talking and other things did not work, it was not pain but the embarrassment of being belted that stopped me going back for more - and making sure I did not do anything (or get caught doing anything) that might mean a repeat performance!!!!

It depends on the kid but it should be available as a last resort - better a belted backside than an out of control teenager who will wreck all their life chances through their behaviour.

I was hit A LOT as a child, I always said I would never hit my own children.

I have three children and I don't hit them,In my opinion how can you teach a child right from wrong with an act of violence.

When I was a child ( 69 years ago ) I was twice spanked on the backside for wrong doing and I still remember the offences I committed ! I am quite sure that the spanking hurt my father more than it physically hurt myself but I never forgot the fact that I ashamed my parents.

From then on, I would think twice before I did anything that would offend my parents.

That spanking WORKED !

You're opening up a can of worms on here with this question.

Parents should have the right to spank their children if all else fails. I was spanked and am fine today, not running around shooting and hitting people. I feared the spanking, not my parents and the consequences they told me about if I were to get in trouble with the law.

I personally don't smack. If an adult was to do something wrong and I smacked them I'd be arrested for assault. So in my head it's the same sort of feelings. Why it isn't assault in regards to a child I do not know.

when you say hitting,it sounds violent.whereas a spanking done in private can only be described as punishment.i am fully behind corporal punishment,pardon the pun!

I hate this debate. Spanking Discipline or Child Abuse debate is getting old. Spanking is discipline. I can't stand this debate. Can people please let parents raise their kids the way they want to.

Absolutely not! I don't believe in hitting or spanking at all. It is cruel and totally unnecessary. There are far more effective ways to discipline a child.