When natural consequences won't work, logical consequences can be used as analternative to spanking. The best thing about logical consequences is thatyou can tie them directly to the behaviour. So when Bobby writes on afreshly painted wall with his crayons, a logical consequence would be tohave him clean the marks. Now Bobby learns how to take responsibility forrepairing his mistake. Keep children informed.
Temper tantrums are a common reason forspanking.
When children feel powerless in a situation, they often use atantrum to regain power. The parent, feeling threatened and out of control,too, uses force to bring the child back in line. By informing the childahead of time to expect a change of scene or situation, the parent caneasily avert the tantrum and the spanking. Instead of telling your child you will be leaving the toy store at amoment's notice, tell him that you will be leaving in a few minutes. Thisallows the child to prepare for the change.