I talked to my husband and told him how I felt. He has always been in the camp that if the offense warrants it, or if there is severe danger involved, it’s okay to swat. I, on the other hand, found myself profoundly affected and not able to resolve the “we don’t hit in our house” lesson I was trying to teach her with using that very thing to discipline her.

I haven’t swatted her since (neither has my husband, but she’s a really good kid). All I know is that I was spanked as a kid and I wasn’t traumatized. I do remember it with fear, but it was just the way we were disciplined (and not a lot, and not severely). I honestly don’t think she’ll even remember it and won’t be traumatized. The hardest part is YOU having to decide how it does or does not fit into your way of doling out discipline.

The other thing to keep in mind is WE’RE ALL JUST HUMAN! Explaining that to her and showing her it’s okay to make mistakes and then apologize and learn from them will really help her more in the long run!

For instance, my first daughter gave her dolls time-outs for a while, even though she’s never experienced one. But she witnesses her neighbor friend getting one, and evidently it made an impression.

And not too long ago, at lunch one day, my oldest (6) said to her sister (3), “Let’s pretend this food is yucky but we still have to eat it!” And they did, and had a ball, and I thought that was so interesting because we’ve never forced anything related to food, but they must have witnessed that happening to one of their friends.

So interesting how kids work these things out through play. I think it is a huge blessing, and the mom in this example can be grateful her daughter has this “coping strategy” that will help her work through the event and move on!