In today's society, there's an endless number of parenting books, articles, and so on that say somewhere along the lines, that it's not okay to physically discipline your/our children because it's considered child abuse. Granted, there are cases of which child abuse actually takes place outside of disciplinary action that is completely uncalled for.

Because of this, I'll gladly go on record and say that I do NOT condone child abuse, nor does this article justify it. The purpose of this article is to simply reflect that harmless, yet point-grasping, physical DISCIPLINE can take place, and if a parent nowadays chooses to do these things, they are not and should not be considered a bad parent.

Now the Lord knows I've had my fair share of physical discipline. When I was a kid, my parents might describe me as a little hellion for some of the stuff I pulled. Looking back, I more than likely would've done the same things under the circumstances. One might call it "old fashioned" now, but I was raised to respect my elders. If I smarted off or disrespected my mom, dad, memee, or great-grandparents, I got a good-ole pop in the mouth.

Depending on what I said depended on how hard the pop was. ((And for those that aren't from the south/mid-west, Memee/Memaw is what we call our grandmas)). If the disrespect was big enough, stole something, or got in serious trouble at school, I would get the leather belt on my butt (amount of hits depended on how bad the situation was). For the small stuff, I would get a good slap on the hand. Normally that would happen when we would be at the store and I would hear the old "don't touch that" or "you break it, you buy it" card. If I didn't listen or I would have to make whatever adult I was with repeat themselves, their hand would meet mine with a firm slap.

Some of ya'll that are parents, on your way to parenthood, or already know how you're going to discipline your children are probably cringing at some of this stuff because "I would never hit my kids". Fair, there are different ways of parenting. But with y'all's version, your kids run around in public with the lack of courtesy, manners, and respect for others like disrespectful little hooligans.

If I would've pulled even HALF of the things I see kids getting away with in public nowadays, my mom (because that's who I was with most of the time) would've grabbed me by my arm and taken me to the closest bathroom and busted by butt until I got the hint. Other than touching stuff I shouldn't have been touching, I knew better than to act like a fool in public because I knew what would happen. But kids today have no clue because the parents don't want to seem like "bad parents".

Honestly, when I see a parent discipline their child like I was disciplined, I go up to them and praise them for actually acting like a parent and disciplining their kids. I get that parents should be praised, but I'll only praise where it's actually deserved.

I also realize that there are parenting books that provide you/us with ways to talk to and negotiate with our kids in a "stern" way, so they can learn their lesson in a "productive" way, rather than physical discipline. I do know people who have raised their kids this way, and now these kids are older grade school/pre-teens and they are unimaginably disrespectful to almost anyone because they know they won't have to face actual consequences. Kids are smarter than you think. They'll catch onto the fact that they're not actually "in trouble" and they'll do whatever they want later on. I just want to point out, that when most parents start this method, their child doesn't fully comprehend because they physically and psychologically can't. Although yes, there is a point where kids get to a certain age and you CAN reason with them instead of using physical discipline, but that's because they're actually able to comprehend the difference between right and wrong (although some kids take longer to get to this point).

But fun fact: parents are not supposed to be their children's friends. It's okay if your kids don't like you because that means you're doing your job.

I can't even tell you how many articles I've seen circulating Facebook and Twitter that say that kids who were physically disciplined will more than likely be physically abusive in future relationships. THAT'S FUNNY because I don't recall EVER being physically abusive, nor do I ever plan to be in relationships. Same thing goes for some friends of mine. I could see how kids that were ACTUALLY abused will turn to domestic abuse, but very few people realize the difference. For the record, THERE IS A DIFFERENCE. A good ole slap on the hand, pop in the mouth, and a couple hits with a belt never hurt anyone. Whereas ACTUAL abuse like cuts, bites, bruises, broken bones and **BURNS** are obviously a completely different story and should definitely be dealt with.

It's been said once and I'll say it again, it's okay to physically discipline your kids. Yes, there are different ways of parenting, but it's smart to keep in mind, again, that your job as a parent is to PARENT your kids, not to be friends with them. Being friends with your kids doesn't and shouldn't happen until your kids are adults. As a kid, I was physically disciplined and looking back at how I acted, I deserved it.

Now that I'm grown, I see why my parents did what they did and said what they said and I honestly thank them for it. If things would've been different and they would've tried the whole "negotiating" method, who knows what kind of person I would be. I've grown into a respectful person who possesses mannerisms and common courtesy (and common sense for that matter) because of how I was raised and my parents deserve to be praised for that. Granted, I do still act like an ass and there's no way I can deny that, but since we're all adults now, disagreements go smoother than before because 9 times out of 10, we can negotiate and figure it out.

I've said it once and I'll say it again, I do not condone child abuse, nor is this article's purpose to justify it. Child abuse is inexcusable. The purpose of this article is to reflect harmless physical disciplinary actions that are perfectly okay for a parent to use when punishing/disciplining their child. I was raised in this environment and I turned out fine, as did a great number of people that are my age. If a parent today decides to discipline their children this way, they are not to be considered a bad, abusive parent. If YOU discipline your child this way, you are NOT a bad parent.

I'll say it once more.

YOU ARE NOT A BAD PARENT IF YOU PHYSICALLY DISCIPLINE YOUR KIDS.