Celebrities with children are often seen as role models when it comes to raising their kids, so they have to be very careful and make the right choices in front of all their fans.
But sometimes, that can lead to a lot of mommy-shaming over some pretty innocent choices, and some stars have taken to social media asking their fans to think before they criticize other moms online.
Singer Kelly Clarkson receives her fair share of heat when it comes to her parenting choices where she was accused of child abuse after she admitted in one of her interviews to spanking her children.
“I don’t mean hitting her hard,” the three-time Grammy winner said in a recent radio interview with 98.9 The Buzz in Rochester, New York. “I mean just a spanking.”
“I warn her,” the mother said. “I’m like, ‘Hi, I’m going to spank you on your bottom if you don’t stop right now — like this is ridiculous.”
While Clarkson noted that there’s a “fine line,” she defended her actions by referencing her own experiences during childhood. “My parents spanked me, I did fine in life and I feel fine about it,” she said.
“So that’s a tricky thing when you’re out in public, ’cause then people are like, you know, they think that’s wrong or something. But I find nothing wrong with a spanking … 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,” Clarkson added.
Unfortunately, many moms didn’t share the same sentiment, and some have gone so far as to call this “child abuse.”
“I’m a Single mom with 3 boys,” one reader commented. “I never spanked my children because I taught them to be respectful. They’re all teenagers now. A/B students, athletes, and very respectful responsible people. Hitting a child doesn’t teach them anything other than it’s ok to hit when you’re angry or frustrated.”
“Spanking lets children think it’s ok to hit!!” another Facebook user shared. “When they go to school it’s my experience working 30 years with children they hit to solve problems. It’s hard to teach children another way once this has been the practice.”
“Good for her, parents today do not discipline their kinds and that’s why there are a bunch of entitled brats running around the world who think they can get away with anything,” another reader wrote. “There is a line between discipline and abuse and she certainly knows the difference; that’s another problem that has developed in society.”
In one recent study, experts have found that most parents spank their kids in the heat of the moment, afterwards often feel guilty about doing so.
And usually, that spanking backfires on them. Kids who are spanked continue to misbehave in both the short and long-term, which is the opposite of what parents wanted when they used this discipline tactic.
Sources: OpposingViews, Today, CafeMom
