First off, I was spanked as a kid, and NO I didn't grow up to have PTSD or be aggressive or mean or emotionally unstable, or anything else y'all think happens when a kid is spanked or popped.

There is a difference between blatantly beating your child and giving them a spanking for misbehaving. I heard on the radio today that "studies have shown kids who were spanked have lower IQ's." My question is WHERE? SHOW ME THE DATA, BECAUSE I KNOW I TURNED OUT JUST FINE. Along with all my other friends that got popped as kids and are very successful adults now. If you don't know the difference between spanking and beating your kids, I encourage you to google it. In fact, I did and here is what I came up with.

According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, spanking is striking especially on the buttocks with the open hand. Also according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, beating is an act of striking with repeated blows so as to injure or damage; also: the injury or damage thus inflicted.

Now in case you still don't know the difference, spanking has been used since the beginning of time. My mother, grandmother and even great-grandmother have all been spanked and guess what; THEY TURNED OUT FINE. Spanking is a type of reprimand when your kids are bad, misbehaving, or not listening to their elder. Spanking your kids doesn't make your love for them any less, it doesn't make you a bad parent, and it certainly doesn't make you a child abuser.

Yes, you may leave a red mark on their bottom, or they may get a welt from your hand, but they will learn not to do that behavior again. I used to get so annoyed when my mother would say "this is going to hurt me a lot more than it hurts you." I would think, "yeah okay if that were the truth then you wouldn't do it." But hear me out, I do not have kids, BUT now that I'm older I realize that it really probably did hurt her more. Because who wants to see their kid cry? Yea, I cried for a little while, and more than likely had red marks on my bottom from being popped, but I turned out not to be a self-righteous, egotistical, "I'm better than everyone" attitude, spoiled little shit-head.

Beating your child, on the other hand, is illegal. The difference is that your kid has done nothing wrong, but you decided to hit them anyways with the intent to cause harm. You were having a bad day, so you took it out on your kids by leaving bruises on their skin. You didn't like the way they cleaned the house, or they put the dishes away in the wrong order, so you made them bleed.

You got mad and took your hand or any foreign object and beat your kid with it for NO reason. That is the difference. This is the kind of abuse that causes kids to have PTSD. This is the kind of abuse that causes kids to become emotionally unstable adults. This is the kind of abuse that turns a nice, quiet kid into a bully at school because they are just acting on what they see at home.

NOT SPANKING.

Some of y'all need to go work with DSS for a few hours and learn what real abuse looks like so you will stop making up stupid reasons for a little spanking to be called abuse. And your kids need to be spanked more often because they act like fools in public.