A mother has explained why she believes smacking your child won’t fix their bad behaviour or tantrums.
Kelly Medina Enos encouraged mums and dads to take up “gentle parenting”, something she practices herself and uses it to learn more about her children’s psychology.
Kelly shared the advice on social media platform TikTok, but the latest parenting tip has been her most popular video to date.
The 31-year-old mum used the video to respond to a comment from a woman who claimed that an elderly woman told her she would have “smacked her child” if they had behaved how her child had been acting up.
The elderly woman went onto suggest that using physical force would prevent bad behaviour in the future, but Kelly disagreed, according to a Mirror Online report.
“All that smacking a child does in the middle of a tantrum [does] is make them more angry, it definitely doesn’t stop the tantrum, you no longer feel like a safe space for them,” the mum told her followers.
“It definitely won’t stop future tantrums and finally they will later on in life suppress their emotions because they don’t get the loving reaction that they NEED while having a tantrum.”
Claiming that smacking is a form of “abuse”, she continued: “Getting a little bit sick of people thinking that children aren’t allowed to have tantrums, that they should have all their emotions completely under wraps.
“I mean, I’m 31 years of age and I definitely do not have my emotions under control, so how can you expect that from a child? Asking for a friend, genuinely.”
The mum continued: “On the flip side, you’ve got to remember that this elderly woman has probably been smacked in her life and her mother’s mother probably smacked her, you get where I’m going with this.
“She has done the best with the knowledge and tools that she has had, the absolute joys of being a parent now in 2021 is that we have the internet, we have so much more access to different styles of parenting and different ways of doing it. And better ways to get the best out of your child.”
Kelly finished her video by admitting, “Anyway, I’m grateful to be a parent in 2021 that’s all I’m saying.”
Since being posted, her video has received more than 8,900 likes and hundreds of comments from people divided on the parenting style.
One person said: “In a world where we constantly need to remind adults that it’ okay not to be okay... yet punish literal children for having feelings?”
Another wrote: “Absolutely 100 per cent agree with every word you’ve just said.”
“Say it again but LOUDER,” commented a third.
While another TikToker said: “My son is 9 and still has moments where his feelings are too big for him to deal with. No parent is 100% perfect but smacking is not the answer.”
However, one mum penned: “That elderly woman was raised in a different generation. Remember that. I was smacked and I don’t need therapy.”
Others shared what they do when their little ones have a tantrum, as someone revealed: “When mine was about 2 she threw herself on the shop floor and had a tantrum so I copied her and she never did it again.”
You can find Kelly on TikTok by searching @kellymedinaenos.
