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Eva Mendes Sparks Debate After Sharing Stance on Spanking Children: 'We All Parent Our Own Way'

Eva Mendes Sparks Debate After Sharing Stance on Spanking Children: 'We All Parent Our Own Way'

Eva Mendes is sharing her view on spanking children, and social media commenters are debating the matter.

The Hitch actress shares two kids with Ryan Gosling, daughters Esmeralda Amada, 6, and Amada Lee, 4, and in an Instagram post Monday, she compares parents hitting their children as punishment to domestic violence.

"I'm often asked what my favorite red carpet dress is. This @versace is definitely up there. Im not often asked what my favorite parenting quote is, but I'll post it anyway," she captioned the post, which included a quote on the second slide that reads: "Spanking does for a child's development what hitting a spouse does for a marriage."

In the comment section, several users disagreed with Mendes, including one person who wrote, "I don't know. I was spanked and now I'm a respectful adult. And believe me, I deserved those whoopings. I was a brat."

Mendes responded, "thank you for your comment. So happy to agree to disagree. Want this page to offer that in a loving way. We all parent our own way and I have no idea what I'm doing most the time."

"This didn't come with a manual 😩 so when there's something that resonates with me, I pass it on. Lotsa love ❤️," she added.

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Another commenter wrote that they "completely disagree," explaining that their "goal in raising kids is not to have to spank, but it's correcting before they can reason behavior out with you."

"I totally respect you," replied the Training Day actress. "Thank you for a respectful comment. So nice to disagree with respect. I found the quote powerful and wanted to pass it on. Lotsa love to and yours."

Back in September 2019, Mendes opened up to Access Daily about the ups and downs of raising kids. "It's so fun and beautiful and maddening," Mendes said of being a parent at the time. "It's so hard, of course. But it's like that feeling of … you end your day, you put them to bed and Ryan and I kind of look at each other like, 'We did it, we did it. We came out relatively unscathed.' "

RELATED: Eva Mendes Says She 'Never Wanted Babies' Until She 'Fell in Love' with Ryan Gosling: 'It Kind of Worked Out'

Mendes, who took a break from the big screen since welcoming her daughters, hinted at a possible return to acting in an October interview with the Sydney Morning Herald.

"I feel like, as far as my ambition, it didn't go away, it just shifted onto the children," she said. "I applaud and look up to those women who can do it all, but I'm not one of them, and, thankfully, I have a choice not to work and I realize how fortunate I am that it's even a choice. I've been so happy to be able to incubate with my babies, but now they are 4 and 6, I'm starting to feel like my ambition is coming back."