what good would it do if he's getting in trouble for trying to punch his mom to just go and "smack" him? kind of defeats the purpose.

Maybe because that would scare and surprise the **** out of the kid and he would be more likely to remember that situation and not want it to happen again. He is NOT in charge and you have to show him that @21 ...this FML makes me want children even less if that's even possible.

Smacking a kid for hitting someone..that won't send mixed signals at all.

Actually #21 giving him a nice smack would be the best way to go about it. When I was younger I was hitting this counselor that I had a crush on at school. My mom saw me hit her one day, so she gave me a nice hard smack. The next day I apologized to the counselor, I told her why I was doing it, and from then on I never hit her again. Also there was one time I said **** in front of my mom. My mom smacked me on the mouth pretty hard, and guess what? I haven't swore in front of my mom since that day. So actually a good smack would do this kid wanders.. Plus haven't you heard the saying " spare the rod, ruin the child?" Why do you think there are so many young, disrespectful, little punks running around these days? It's because they never got properly disciplined.

#42 It is possible to properly discipline a child without smacking them and even if parents do smack it should NEVER be in the face. That is straight out child abuse, whether it stopped you swearing (in front of your mother) or not.

#46 please stop trying to dictate what is and is not child abuse in situations that are absolutely none of your business. Child abuse is all about intent; his mother was disciplining him appropriately because his behaviour was unacceptable. That is not abuse. If she walked up to him and punched him in the face for no reason that would be abuse.

Relax 46, it was a different time then. There weren't the laws in place like today where if you spank your kid you go to jail; hell when I was growing up the cop would've held me for my mom to spank me. And smacking doesn't necessarily mean face, it usually refers to their bottom. Slapping someone's face although not right, does generally get the point across, and in the spur of the moment is a knee-jerk reaction. If it wasn't, a guy wouldn't get slapped by a girl if he called her a name to her face, or grabbed her ass.

I agree with 49, if it was my child, I'd spank them with a belt, what good will a corner do? The best lesson I was ever taught from my pops was hit a girl and I'll beat you black and blue. When I shot my sister with a BB gun guess who got shot by it point blank as punishment and hasn't shot anyone else? Pain is forgotten, what brings that pain isn't.

Just so you know I don't advocate for physical discipline and my parents hardly ever used it on me but there were 2 times I was smacked in the mouth and you know what I learned my lesson. I think ops situation is a drastic one and does warrant a smack but I also said discipline how op sees fit. After the kid is punished and calms down then you talk to the child reasonably.

For the people saying child abuse just shut up, child abuse is when a parent has no regard for the child's well being.

You can discipline and teach children without hitting them.

61 - yeah for other things, but punching an unborn baby is very serious and life threatening thing. even of she wasnt pregnant, thats still wrong, and physical disipline teaches that if you go and smack someone, they will smack you back and you deserved it. Its life

You can't teach a kid not to hit by hitting them. Teach by example. This kid has obvious issues, and discipline with violence is not going to help him get over those issues. He will learn to internalize instead of expressing himself, and will grow up thinking it's okay for big people to hit little people. That's how you make a bully. He needs discipline, and also to learn how to control his anger. He needs to be given healthy outlets to express himself, especially for the negative emotions. A conversation about why this kid doesn't want a sibling needs to happen, and hitting him will not help.

As for why there are so many punks running around that haven't been disciplined, remember that every generation has their punks. Violent discipline does not teach respect. Often, the parents of these punks were hit as children and vowed never to do the same to their own children. Because of this and never learning how to properly discipline a child without violence, children are given free reign. It also happens that punks are often the recipient of violent discipline at home and act out when away from their parents because of it. Both violent discipline and a lack thereof make punks. Proper discipline does not demean the child, does not hurt the child, and does not impede child development. For everyone saying "I was spanked and I'm fine!", you now think it's okay to hit children. That's not fine.

Physical discipline in my experience just further shows that hitting is an O.K. response. If you can't solve an issue with a child without hitting them, you might need to seek some advice from parental support groups. If you hit another adult it's considered assault, yet it's okay to hit children because they are smaller and learning? Yes this child should know not to hit their mother especially while pregnant, the kid obviously needs help with his emotions. Not a smacking

Why is he trying to abort his mothers baby? This a sign something probably wrong with the kid. The fact that he knew enough/and tried to attempt it is a serious warning sign. This, may not be something he gets over. He might try to or will abuse the baby. OP should get the kid help and fast.

If he were older he'd be going to jail for a long time for assaulting a pregnant woman. At 8 years old he's old enough to know that's wrong!

the world thanks you