In this day and age, where time-outs have replaced corporal punishments, and children seem to not have the same level of respect that the kids of yesteryear had -- what does one do when they see a parent spanking their child in public; let's say in the park, by the swing set, or in the supermarket in the frozen foods section.

Does it depend on whether you are for or against spanking in the first place?
Does it matter how aggressive the spanking gets?
Should the volume of the child's cries be a determining factor?
Or do you go by the level of aggravation in the parent's voice?

To do what, you may be asking... To step in, that's what.

In a posting from Mariah titled OMG, which discussed the rumor of a man who was 86ed from his child's daycare because he "may" have been taking pics of children other than his own. We [the members] were asked by Mariah if we would stick our neck out for the child, if we thought something inappropriate was going on.

Well, I sure as hell would. If I thought that a man, or a woman, was inappropriately interacting with a child, even if it were their own child, I would butt in. And this includes spanking in public. That [spanking] is inappropriate behavior! I don't care what the circumstances is. Spanking in public is a result of the parents' frustration and is not about what the child did wrong.

If it were about what rule the child disobeyed, the lesson, or spanking could wait until they got back home. In fact, that was usually the scariest part of receiving a spanking... the waiting for it. In my case, it was, as told to me by my dearly departed mother, "You just wait until your father gets home!" I would sit in my room and stew, worrying about the spanking that was coming my way as soon as my father walked in the door. I would hope that he had a good day, and that he wasn't already mad about something else, so he had me to take his frustrations out on. And I would begin to cry as soon as I heard his car pull into the driveway.

But in 99% of the instances the worrying was waaaaay worse that the actual spanking. And that, I believe, is how parents should handle the issue of spanking their kids in public. I have some bad memories of being spanked, and do not want to see it in public. So, if I am in a store, in a restaurant, or on the playground, you had better not beat your kid. I will step in and I will intimidate you into thinking twice about ever spanking your kids in public again. In fact, I may just put you over my knee and give you the spanking you deserve.

Where do you stand on the topic???
RicoDad