I had an interesting opportunity of meeting Russel Peters when I was in the US recently and yes, while he was exceptionally funny, I wasn't exactly blown away by his personality. We'll save that story for another day.
Anyway, as I was thumbing through the photo album, (that was what actually jolted my memory of him), I instinctively started laughing about Peter's joke of beating your kids. For those unfamiliar with the joke, scroll down to watch the youtube video. Anyhow, I found the joke hilarious, because sadly it rang so true. Asian parents generally do beat their kids. I have fond memories of huddling with my secondary school classmates, and "showing off" our war wounds, clucking at how mean each others parents were. The memories were fond, as they brought me closer to my friends. In a way we all were each others support system. Friends because we were fighting the same war - the war against the perpetrators of "evil" - our parents.
Now before you write off my anecdote as something of the yesteryear. You'd be surprised at how many modern, educated parents still spank their kids. While we have no hard facts, we did speak to Mr Kenny Toh, a professional coach from the Insititute of Advanced Parentology and according to him he wouldn't be surprised if over 75% of Singapore parents do spank or smack their kids.
That said, we wanted to know what you, our readers, felt about corporal punishment. So, we twittered two polls, "Are you pro or anti spanking?" and "Is there a difference between spanking and smacking?". This is what you had to say:
Poll 1: "Are you pro or anti spanking?"
Wolfgang_ : Pro spanking! Spare the rod, spoil the brat.
Nisha_lakshmi: Anti-spanking. From a psychological POV, positive punishment never works.
Betshopboy: I'm not pro spanking but I strongly believe in the phrase "spare the rod & spoil the child". Am I contradicting myself?
Kodomut: Pro. I was brought up that way and I think it molded my values and character!
Adriankoh: I'm pro-discipline, measured, controlled, and non-emotional. I think spanking is just one of the tools. Don't love it, though.
Sleeping_queen: Pro-spanking. I occasionally spank to convey severity of offense.
Ptoh: I'll choose spanking as a last resort. other means of discipline includes restitution or removal of priv
Roshni: For me, I set ground rules. Explain what I expect, what the consequences are. If they break it, enforce punishment.
Ramonatquest: That's what I do as well.
CptCswife: I am neutral on this 'cos I used it as a threat.
Poll 2: "Is there a difference between spanking and smacking?"
Trishasc: Like full-on caning or really hitting the child - that's spanking to me. A smack on the arm is nothing!
Shamini_r: Yes! I second Trishsc
Kodomut: To me spanking = the rod!
Nisha_lakshmi: I think spanking is more serious than a smack on the arm.
Wolfgang_: Big difference. A spanking is mainly applied on the bum bum, no? Smacking is like for the hands or legs etc, yes?
Razlan79: You smack your children, but you spank your other half ;)
ptoh: Spanking typically refers to hitting the buttoks.. smacking could be slapping the face, etc..
Do you agree with their views? Are you completely aghast with our findings? Do you think we're making a big deal of nothing? Well, don't keep your opinions to yourself, share your thoughts below!
Russel Peter's Beat Your Kids Video