Were you ever spanked as a child? Spanking as discipline for a child has become controversial, and The American Academy of Pediatrics concludes that the practice is ineffective and harmful. Yet there are still parents who swear by it. Kelly Clarkson, the accomplished singer, songwriter, author, and TV personality, is one of those parents, and she recently defended her decision during a radio interview.
Kelly, who has two kids, River Rose, 8, and Remy, 6, stated that she “is not above spanking” when it comes to discipline. She clarified, “I don’t mean hitting her hard. I just mean a little spanking.” Kelly herself grew up with spanking as part of her upbringing and sees nothing wrong with it. “My parents spanked me, I did fine in life, and I feel fine about it,” she shared proudly. “I’m from the South, y’all, so we get spankings. My mom would call the principal if I ever ended up in the principal’s office and give permission for her to spank me…I’m a well-rounded individual with a lot of character, so I think it’s fine.”
While Kelly acknowledges that her way of parenting may be controversial, she admits it can be challenging to discipline her children in public. “That’s a tricky thing, when you’re out in public, because then people think that’s wrong or something,” she said. Nevertheless, she sees no issue with spanking and even mentioned that you might catch her spanking her child at the zoo. However, she does give her children fair warning before resorting to spanking. “I’m like, ‘Hi, I’m going to spank you on your bottom if you don’t stop right now, this is ridiculous,’ and honestly it’s really helped. She doesn’t do that kind of stuff as often.”
As an audience, you may have differing opinions on the matter. Do you agree with Kelly Clarkson’s way of disciplining children? Or do you believe that everyone should be left to discipline their children as they see fit? We would love to hear your thoughts in the comments on our Facebook page. Let’s start a healthy discussion on this topic and explore the different perspectives that exist.
Watch Kelly Clarkson’s interview where she discusses her parenting style .
