Article: Adele Farmer from Women24
Image: Ablestock

I still remember the way my mother backhanded my backside when I announced, while leaving the table, that my aunt's stew tasted like feet. When I think about it now, I laugh, and I know that I would spank my child too if she ever had the foot-in-mouth disease that I had as a child. I still say the wrong thing sometimes – but now, most times, I think about it first.

The Women24.com Female Nation Survey 2008 found that my mom and I are not alone. Sixteen percent of those who's youngest child is a toddler and 7% of those who's youngest child is a pre-teen use spanking as their main form of discipline. The figures dwindle as the age of the youngest child increases, but the fact remains that there is still a lot of spanking going on.

It seems to be a swift consequence that many parents rely on, but according to Ms Ricki Fransman, Senior Manager of LifeLine / Childline in the Western Cape, spanking could be considered as a form of physical and child abuse. She suggests that since spanking is both painful and humiliating for the child, positive discipline should rather be used to create a positive change in behaviour.

Fransman says Childline gets a number of calls from children whose parents have spanked them and insists that laws that prohibit corporal punishment are there to protect children who are vulnerable to forms of physical abuse.

"Often, parents or caregivers punish, rather than discipline, their children, which could lead to long-term negative effects, not only for the child himself, but also the relationship between the caregiver or parent and the child," says Fransman.

I'm not sure that the memory of that stew-spank has had a negative effect on me – but I do remember it. And I remember that comparing food to feet is not acceptable. Do you think that spanking children is acceptable or is it abusive? Do other consequences work equally effectively?

Join the debate by making use of the comment box below.

The 2008 Women24.com Female Nation Survey was completed by over 8000 respondents, and was weighted by independent quantitative researchers to represent 3 million urban SA women, earning over R2500 a month. Click here for the full results, and here for our press release.