I love my mum dearly for the spanking ( actually it was thorough beating & caning) that straightened me up.Whereas she would often go overboard in her administration I still think and know she did it for love.I cannot also credit this method of discipline by what I became,I would rather go for a mix of both methods like so many a parents are advocating here.The correct balance is not written in stone and success as a parent and discipline master will have to be something one develops as each family is unique in terms of discipline demands.
No inyue rimwe nitua guthaguo ta ngonia.Rimwe ndaguthiruo ta ng'ombe kinya ngithuria itakwenda Na tondu ahuragira nyumba-ri gugi tararika (uthuri wa gachegeni) kinya onake agitigana nanie. Akinjuria ii kai wi muoru nda? Niki uriire?!Thie nakuu uma! A good trick for the youngsters today huh?!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Ngii Ndune!!,

quote:

Originally posted by RUKI:
Smacking is however effective when the child understands the reason behind it.

True. In psychology, any motivation (positive or negative) can only be effective if the child can relate to the action. So if you are spanking, it has to be immediately after s/he has committed the act, so that s/he can relate the negative motivation to the action and hence desist in future.
Same applies to positive motivation, if you reward a child for good deeds immediately s/he does them, he will associate that behaviour with the reward and will likely tend to do it often.