Spanking Struggle

I'm afraid that Charlotte is going to be a typical first-born child. She seems to already have a strong will and for Jared and I who are both second-born's, we're at a bit of a loss as to where all this sassiness comes from! We both firmly believe in spanking, though we're struggling with when to begin that form of punishment. Dr. Dobson, the parenting and discipline guru, says sometime between 15 to 18 months is an acceptable time to administer the first spanking. So we had a countdown to the day Charlotte turns 15 months old :)

After talking to some of the mothers in our Home Bible Study, including our pastor's wife, who has four very respectful and well-mannered boys, we are praying about whether or not a smack to the hand would be appropriate for her at this age. She's not yet crawling (though she's getting close as she tries to push herself along with her feet instead of pushing herself up to her knees), so she's not getting into things she shouldn't and disobeying in that manner. It's just a fussiness and brattiness when she's not being held when she wants to be (which is way more than I can hold her and still get stuff done around the house!). And many of the times, she doesn't just want you to hold her, she wants you to hold her while you're standing up. Frustrating!

We're struggling with, at this point, whether she can understand what the little slaps to the hand are for. Is she going to see it as Mommy and Daddy just hitting her, or as Mommy and Daddy not approving of the way she was acting?

This morning as I was reading in Scripture, I came across these verses that comforted me.

My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
--Proverbs 2:1-6

For a while we have been praying for wisdom in how to discipline her and this morning I was reassured that God would guide us and give us the wisdom we are seeking.