Monday, January 22, 2007

To Spank or Not to Spank

California is considering a ban on spanking young children.

Now, this is a little freaky, IMO. It’s like the government coming into my home and telling me how to discipline my children.

Granted, there are many ways to discipline your child and there are books galore on how to go about doing this without having to resort to spanking. But, as a mother of two boys who are *all boy*, I can tell you that a good spanking now and again is certainly not something that should be frowned upon.

Kids like to push the limits, and at times, a good swat on the behind makes all the difference.

From the article:
The proposal includes penalties of up to a year in jail and fines of as much as $1000 dollars.
That’s crazy.

I can understand if someone is physically abusing their child or leaving marks on them, but your average spanking is not something that a parent should go to jail for!

My sister recently went to Norway, where spanking is banned, and she had her four-year old son with her. I think it freaked her out a little bit that she could possibly get fined if she spanked her son while they were there.

The report also made the comment that:
The spanking ban won't likely win support from Republicans.
LOL....isn’t it the liberal voters who are always complaining that the religious right is trying to take all their freedom away? But, I suppose they’d support Big Brother watching our homes in case we spank little Billy.

I asked my 6th grade son if he remembered getting a spanking, and whether he thought spanking was a poor way to discipline. He said he remembered that we spanked him, but not a specific incident. He thought spanking was necessary if nothing else works, and he couldn’t believe that California is pushing to ban it.

From the mouth of babes...