It honestly made me look at the milk I buy in the store in a whole new light.

Pumping SUUUUUCKS. I hardly got any milk, and I went through three hospital-grade pumps (which is why I fight the urge to smack anyone who says breastfeeding is "free"), it didn't keep my supply up, it was uncomfortable, I had to wash all that shit constantly... ugh. I actually enjoyed breastfeeding, but you know what…

I got it!

Dude. Just the look my son gives me when he has an ear infection destroys me. "IT HURTS MOMMY IT HURTS BAD WHY DOES IT HURT WHY AREN'T YOU MAKING IT STOP?"

Yeppp. Obviously, I'm not arguing that everyone who was ever spanked is messed up because of it, but declaring oneself "FINE" does not end an argument.

Well in all fairness, it's not all just helicopter parents being overbearing/overprotective. Some parents (and kids, for that matter) feel pressured to overschedule themselves because without that scholarship, there's no way they're going to be able to afford college (due to the inflated cost of education). Funding…

Gotcha - yeah, that's different. I meant the end-of-your-rope, "STOP WHINING ALREADY JESUS CHRIST" yelling.

It doesn't matter. Only wussy hippie parents use "research" and "studies" by so-called "experts" to inform them about how to discipline their child. But that's what's all the rage now, which is why kids are so out of control! I was spanked and I turned out fine! If I spoke to adults when I was a child the way some…

I've said this before (maybe to you) but:

And the thing with "spanking rationally" is, if you can, you can discipline rationally in a way that isn't spanking.

Here's thing, though: I don't think anyone here (maybe one or two people at the most) would argue that if you were spanked, you are obviously not OK.

This. The whole "parents these days are too lenient and kids these days are out of control" meme has been around for AGES. Every generation thinks the younger generation is worse than they were.

Fair enough. I would never declare all children who were ever spanked to be fucked up (I don't believe that, anyway) but it's frustrating to deal with the number of people who think that since being spanked didn't fuck them up, spanking won't fuck anyone up.

I don't follow.

My toddler son once was so happy and wanted to hug me so much that he bit me. Like, hugging with his arms and legs weren't enough, he wanted to hug with his mouth, too. I had a huge bruise on my right boob for a week.

I wish more people realized this about small children. I've tried to explain to my childfree friends that tantrums and bad behavior doesn't happen because the kid is a brat or a bully, but because they don't know how else to express or regulate all of these strong, brand-new emotions. Some of them still think I'm just…

When he was 18 months, my son was in the bath and grabbed the hot water knob. Fucker is FAST. He wasn't even burned, but it was unpleasant for him. On the other hand, he now takes "hot" very seriously (to the point where he barely lets us drink our coffee in the morning because we told him the mugs were hot).

I'm anti-spanking, but not because I think all spanking is child abuse. I agree with you that not all spanking is necessarily abusive, and absolutely can be done without causing lasting trauma to a child.

you lose it and yell sometimes. At least that is how it works for me.

I'm going to use this. Thank you.