Spanking...

C made an offhand comment about me telling DC 'Just wait til we get home' and then he added - well, you might be one of those moms who jsut hauls off in the store.

I calmly said - oh, I'll never spank our kids.

Yeah, they just won't need to be spanked.

No, not that - well, I think that every parenting choice you make is teaching your child something - and the only thing spanking teaches is that if I'm bigger and stronger than you, I can hurt you to make you do what I want you to do.

Not if you give them an explanation for why you're spanking...

Well, if you are explaining it - what's the spanking for? It's using pain to enforce - thus, teaching that as long as I'm bigger and stronger than you, I can hurt you to make you do what I want.

I made an example of how silly it was to punish a child for hitting a sibling/smaller child, when the parent hits the child, and he kinda brushed it off.

Then, I wrapped up with - you don't even train animals by hitting them, and I would hope our kids are smarter than animals!

He was quiet for a while afterwards, and didn't say anything more - but I know he's thinking about it, and mulling over it.

Ahh.... the education begins.

I've already got him down with cosleeping with a sidecar.

No vaxing will be interesting - but I don't think he'll have too many reservations.