Should spanking be done with your hand or a paddle?

Ummmm.... NEITHER

I think that if you are going to spank it should only be with your hand never with an object. I personally don't spank my son, I've given him no more than a tap on the hand, however I didn't find that worked well so I just put him in time outs or I hold him so he has to sit still for a certain amount of time, and he doesn't care for that.

In my opinion spanking should be a last resort and used little as possible. There are other means of discipline.

With that said (in my opinion), if you are going to spank, then use your hand. With your hand you will actually "feel" what you are doing....using anything other then the hand can lead to abuse, because there is no way to gauge what you are doing because you can't "feel" it.

I was spanked all my life and I thank my parents for disciplining me that way. I'd be a spoilt brat just like my sister (Mom's daughter from another marriage) if they had of done time outs instead. However, I believe you should only spank with your hand. From personal experience, the spankings with objects are the ones that hurt feelings and make you feel unloved, not the spankings with hands

hand most definitely! i was spanked as a kid and the paddles did nothing but make me resent my parents. I spank as a final punishment before being sending to her room.

I believe in spanking with the hand and agree with others on here that it should be the last resort. I also was spanked as a kid and Im still alive to tell my story. I would never spank my kids as hard as I did but it works even if you just nip them on the hand on butt. Some people take spanking too far and thats wrong but if you can control your anger and frustration while doing it you should be ok. Dont ever hit your child because you are mad at them. If you get that mad walk away go outside for a little...something...rather then spank them because you are mad.

i fully agree with chyna_doll...i too was spanked constantly as a kid, i hated my parents SOOO much..they never explained to be what i was doing wrong, all they did was threaten with the wooden paddle, and then spank..i never learned a thing!! i TRY not to spank mydaughter, but ya know, sometimes they just get outta control thats really your last resort..with that being said, i only ever use my hand, and its just a one time smack on the butt..not doing it repeatedly like my parents did to me!!

you shoud never spank your child no matter how old they are with anything but your hand!!!!!!!
i was hit with a belt growing up and i hate my stepdad for it and my mom for letting him do it.
i have only hit my son a few times he is 2. But i have only done it recently. And not hard or to many times juat one firm spank and he gets the point that what he did was wrong.

HAND!!! Always!!!! My husband and I spank but only with our hands and try to use the right hands so not to hit them with our rings. We want the spank to be useful but NOT harmful!!
When I was a kid my dad spanked with a belt and I remember it hurting for hours afterwords. I also had a friend who's mom spanked with anything she could get her hands on and once broke a brush over her daughters head (luckly my friend had a hard head and it didn't even fase her lol)!!
When my mom and dad devorced my mom only ever used her hand so that she could feel how hard she was hitting us and not to hurt us in any way but get her point accross!
So for me it HAND all the way and NEVER anything else!!!!
Leauna

I AGREE with EDGPAG! I grew up in a similar situation to her! I vowed I would never spank my children; I don't want my daughter to be afraid of me.