First, I would like to make something clear before getting into this topic. I in no way, shape or form condone child abuse…spanking your child when it is needed is NOT child abuse; it’s common sense. That being said, it is pretty clear the difference between children whose parents spank them when needed, and children whose parents don’t believe in or are afraid to spank them. We wonder why children seem to be more unruly, disrespectful and generally bad, compared to past generations. We now live in a society where everyone has an opinion on every topic and everyone is a parenting expert.

Think back to past generations, including my own. It was the norm to spank your child when they were being disrespectful, throwing a tantrum, etc. Yet now, we have parents who instead choose to reward bad behavior in hopes of...? Instead of parenting their children, they are giving them what they want to shut them up, giving them an iPad to play games on, or sitting them in front of the television so they won’t have to deal with them, when one good smack on the bottom will do the trick.

I was spanked as a child, and I do not suffer from any psychological disorders-- well one, which is called "Respect for Others." I also do not live in fear of my parents because they spanked me a handful of times my entire life when I deserved it. I do not have resentment for them for teaching me how to act. I have respect for them and am thankful that they spanked me as a child. It is not something any parent wants to do, but sometimes a child makes it a necessary form of discipline.

Parenting is difficult; no one ever said it is an easy job, but instilling the most basic expectations and rules for your child, such as, respecting their parents, respecting others, knowing how to appropriately act in public, and treat others as they would like to be treated, we all know the sort of expectations our parents held us to as children and growing up, that is the easy part of parenting. I think of it like the teachers in school who make it clear the first day of classes what their expectations for their students are. It makes both the teacher's and the students' jobs much easier knowing what they need to do to be productive; that is no different than the expectations a parent has for a child, and if parents are not making their expectations clear to their children, their relationship will suffer because of it.

So, please get a grip people, stop being afraid of spanking your kids; it will be clear when it is necessary. You are not a bad parent for disciplining your child when it is needed; you are making their future better, you are teaching them how to be respectful, productive members of society, and for that, I am thankful.