A now-viral video that began circulating online showing a father furiously spanking his young son in public for misbehaving has drawn widespread criticism for its inappropriateness. The clip, which began circulating on Twitter several months ago, shows the man grabbing the boy by the arm before repeatedly smacking him on the backside with the palm of his hand. Another child, who may be the boy’s sister, sits on the chair next to him and also receives harsh words, though it seems she escapes a beating.
Right or wrong? pic.twitter.com/VHg7qAszKn
— lando (@makingmyown_) July 27, 2020
- Many branded the video “disgusting.” For those who believe that spanking is wrong and doesn’t teach children anything – something that most pediatricians have repeatedly insisted is the case – this clip was horrifying. It’s not as if the father gave the boy a light tap on the butt, which in itself would have been inappropriate, but he repeatedly hit him extremely hard, and it was a difficult video to watch because of it.
- Spanking will only make the child afraid of his father. Children are mini adults and should be treated with respect, consideration, and maturity so that they learn those same lessons. Teaching them that doing something wrong will lead to physical abuse will only make them fearful of the parent doing it rather than understanding where they went wrong.
- Some people did support it, however. There were several commenters on the original video who claimed that they’d been spanked a lot as children and turned out just fine. That may be the best, but that’s not true for everyone and that also doesn’t make it right. We knew a lot less about child psychology in generations past and didn’t fully understand the negative effect spanking could have, so there’s no excuse for it now.
- A few people thought it was okay, just not in public. Of those who did support the spanking, several insisted that there was nothing wrong with beating the child but it should have been done privately rather than in public. I don’t see what difference it makes, really – knowing the child was experiencing that either privately or in public is extremely upsetting.
That is far too much. Way way too much. Kids are learning and growing still. They’re not full adults who understand everything. This kind of hitting is abuse
— Grateful Heathen 🍂🦃 (@yourfavheathen) July 27, 2020
Shiid i was hit with way worse and I’m just fine 🤣🤣🤣🤣
— OG_Dell⚡ (@DusseDale) July 27, 2020
That’s the way you teach them not to act that way. Of course we don’t know what he did, but in general, if a 4 or 5 year old is acting up, unless you actually do something they won’t care. Toddlers don’t listen to reason.
— Alexander Lo❌bardy (@AuggiejrAsh) July 28, 2020
