California moves forward with Anti-Spanking bill

[Swamp Fox]

Do they teach you at law school to be so verbose and polysyllabllic or is this a skill you had naturally?

 

[Dogger]

Do they teach you at law school to be so verbose and polysyllabllic or is this a skill you had naturally?

I've always had it, but law school honed it to perfection.

 

[Gunny]

If you're abusing your kids, someone needs to step in.

I don't mind when needed to protect children from abuse. I've seen photos of dead kids in abuse cases. Dead little girls, dead little boys.

Something like that stays with you; I can't be indifferent.

That is an extreme. Parents are responsible for their children and their behavior. Not just morally, but legally as well. So long as I, as a parent, am responsible butt out. When the state wants to hold the child, not me accountable for his/her actions, THEN you can stick your nose in.

The problem I have with this law is it leaves too much open to interpretation as to what abuse is, while saying in so many words that if you use any of the listed items while administering corporal punishment you stand a good chance of having that charge tacked on.

I have no problem with the primary concern being the welfare of the child. I DO however have a problem than caters to overly-sensitive, political correctness and puts the parents in a no-win position.

Defining actual abuse is like defining actual torture, or defining "cruel and unusual punishmnet." Subjective, depending on who is doing the defining. IMO, the law has been an utter failure at defining any and all of the three simply because some things are individual in nature, and need to be addressed on an individual basis.

 

[Ravi]

I guess liberals can't tell the difference between child abuse and spanking a child. Not surprising. As if liberals know anything about discipline....that's a laugh....but they sure know how to dictate....especially when it comes to your children...

How sad for you. You're no longer allowed to hold a pillow over your kid's face to make him behave.

 

[Paulie]

The "fear of god" element in parenting is absolutely necessary. Your kids should fear doing wrong by you. They shouldn't necessarily fear YOU, they should fear making you upset and/or disappointing you.


You mix in strict discipline with happy and fun times, and your kids will prosper. Works for me, anyway.

As far as this article, I don't agree with using objects, although I can definitely see where Gunny is coming from with his take on that. I limit spanking to an open hand on the ass. The worst it does is leave the obvious red mark, and it's definitely enough to make at least MY kid not want to take the chance 99% of the time.

My girlfriend's a softie though, so we're always at odds over discipline. My parents spanked, but I barely ever got spanked anyway. I respected the freedoms I had as a child, and was also not stupid enough to get caught when I pushed it.

 

[cbi0090]

People just don't want to admit that people are very different and have to be treated accordingly and when it comes to raising children you learn that fact very quickly. My oldest daughter was born angry. She nearly broke the basinett they placed her in at the hospital by kicking it so hard. Growing up I always had to account for her quick temper and teach her how to keep it in check so she would terrorize the kids at school. My youngest, though, was so mellow she was easy prey. I had to teach her how to defend herself, for her own good, and so she wouldn't call on her oldest sister who was always in enough trouble as it was.
I knew how to handle her because my younger brother was exactly the same way. I was man-of-the-house very early and so cut my teeth on with child rearing with my own siblings. I had to step in with my brother because by the time he was 12 he was way too much for my mother to handle. My mother could have used a 2x4 and it wouldn't have gotten his attention. I wasn't that much bigger and I certainly didn't have his ferocity but I was cooler (had a girlfriend, a car, etc), and so could keep him under control. I cringe when I think of what could have happened if I hadn't been there, and, then, I think of how common that senario is these days. Single mothers raising teenage boys? What if I hadn't even cared or, worse, had been like him?
Would my mother had been justified use a broom handle? She would have had no control and we wonder why the streets filled with young men up to no good. If this law is put in place the state had better plan on building a lot of boot camps to raise a lot of young men, because mothers will not have any choice but to have their children arrested or just let them take over. Given those choices I vote for the boot camps.

 

[AllieBaba]

I don't think it's a reflection on conservatives. I think it's a reflection on SE.

There's nothing wrong with hitting a kid on the butt with your hand. You don't need an object to hit him/her with.

Actually, the way I see it..hands are for loving. When you discipline a child it is much more effective and much more objective to use an object. I'm not talking electrical cords in a fit of rage, but an instrument of correction.

In my house, it's a plastic spatula. The kids hold out their hand and I swat it. It's a thousand times more effective than using my hands, and not because it hurts more. It's the symbol of the thing.

 

[jillian]

The "fear of god" element in parenting is absolutely necessary. Your kids should fear doing wrong by you. They shouldn't necessarily fear YOU, they should fear making you upset and/or disappointing you.


You mix in strict discipline with happy and fun times, and your kids will prosper. Works for me, anyway.

As far as this article, I don't agree with using objects, although I can definitely see where Gunny is coming from with his take on that. I limit spanking to an open hand on the ass. The worst it does is leave the obvious red mark, and it's definitely enough to make at least MY kid not want to take the chance 99% of the time.

My girlfriend's a softie though, so we're always at odds over discipline. My parents spanked, but I barely ever got spanked anyway. I respected the freedoms I had as a child, and was also not stupid enough to get caught when I pushed it.

As you saw, I agree with you on the bit of fear element. Ultimately, though, you're correct in that what we want is for them to fear doing wrong and to want continued approval. So essentially, you also have to give your approval and let them know you're proud of them when you are, so that they keep wanting that response and avoiding the negative response. ;o)

 

[ScreamingEagle]

Actually, the way I see it..hands are for loving. When you discipline a child it is much more effective and much more objective to use an object. I'm not talking electrical cords in a fit of rage, but an instrument of correction.

In my house, it's a plastic spatula. The kids hold out their hand and I swat it. It's a thousand times more effective than using my hands, and not because it hurts more. It's the symbol of the thing.

Child abuser! (kidding) That is the "use of an instrument". If you lived in California and this law passes, you could be arrested. Evidently today the "use of an instrument" is considered child abuse.

Hey, even when training a puppy they say to use a rolled up newspaper instead of your hand...

Next, even swatting a child with your hand or a newspaper will be illegal. Don't ya know….you are supposed to follow the methods being taught to you on the TV "nanny" shows?

Tell ya what? When the State agrees to pay for the birth of our children, all the food, clothing playthings and related items, housing and transportation, all medical expenses including dental, you know all costs associated with raising the child, they can come tell me how to RAISE my child. Until then, unless they can prove abuse they have no business telling me how, when or why I can discipline my children.

Unfortunately that is becoming the case with way too many children..…think of how often you hear the liberal cries about the "poor children"…..it is the goal of the communist left to control our children…that is how State Power is created. The left has made great strides toward this goal by pushing free sex, easy divorce, demeaning and feminizing men, state welfare taking the place of a father, loss of parental control, schools disseminating morality…..many things destroying the family unit in a myriad of ways…so the State can step in and take over.

How sad for you. You're no longer allowed to hold a pillow over your kid's face to make him behave.

It's idiots like you who need the State to control you.