*smack*

No, sorry to disappoint, this is not a post about heroin.

Rather, the current contentious issue of smacking children.

The debate of “do we/don’t we” has once again come to the fore with new research claiming that smacked children become successful and happier adults compared to those that have never been smacked.

According to the research, children smacked up to the age of six were likely as teenagers to perform better at school and were more likely to carry out volunteer work and to want to go to university than their peers who had never been physically disciplined.

I have always been a staunch supporter of the wooden spoon method of disciplining kids (or in Tim’s experience, the frying pan) despite having never been subjected to it as a child. In fact, so much so that this was one of the things tabled at our discussion before making the big “let’s move in” decision.

Other (kinky?) ideas might have assaulted Tim’s brain when I asked him,

“So what do you thing about smacking?

… kids that is!”

His quickly reply, “Yep, definitely smacking them” assured me that we were on the path to true love.

Sure, other things sealed the deal like the fact that he’s the reigning Laundry King and Domestic Daddy-in-the-making (which I profusely thanked his mum for during one of our Tim conversations).

Oh but how quickly I digress.

Once it was agreed that smacking was indeed an optional form of discipline in the Duhigg household, it was only a matter of time before we needed someone to inflict this method of chastisement to.

Enter stage left, Kala Rosario.

Yes, at present she is only 5 months old and the extent of her mischief is quite harmless and at times endearing - like her record-breaking attempts at spitting the dummy across the room, slapping Tim’s face while he’s trying to squeeze in precious moments of sleep (the endearing part) and fake crying in a desperate bid to grab our attention.

The point is that soon enough there will come a time when Tim and I will need to bring out the big guns. When it’s no longer enough that you tell them “No” and when trying to reason with them is futile and a waste of breath - not that you can reason with a 2 year old to begin with. It is comforting to know that as parents, we are both on the same page when dishing out discipline. That we won’t be confusing the poor kid with conflicting actions, that consistency is our common goal and that tough love has its place.

I shudder to think that I will become the parent of a rude, irreverent, spoilt brat. You know the kind. Those kids who don’t listen to a cautioning word, those who throw roof-raising tantrums at the most inappropriate places, those who think that crying gets them what they want and yes, they often want everything.

I don’t want to be the parent of that child who everyone stares at, then shakes their head in disgust, shocked that such disrespectful behaviour is condoned all under the guise that to give them a disciplinary tap on the bottom is an infringement on their rights to a safe and happy childhood.

If a smack here and there is all it takes to set my child on the path to righteousness and learn the value of respect, then it’s an easy choice. So don’t judge me if you see me around sporting a wooden spoon as the latest mum-must-have accessory. Just walk away and rest assured that it is only ever used for the greater good.

If you can’t hold back on that sniping remark, be warned.

My Supermum senses mean that I have supersonic hearing and a deadly aim. I can tell you now that a ladle-shaped dent on the back of the head is not a look showcased in any of the 2010 Spring/Summer collections.