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<p>I am trying to come up with something profound to say about this, but I just have no words.</p>
<p>Fortunately, it looks unlikely to be considered seriously.</p>
<p>Yikes!</p>
<p>This article reminded me of a question: </p>
<p>Is it true that hitting someone with a citrus fruit doesn’t leave a bruise?</p>
<p>EDIT: Whoops. Had it backwards.</p>
<p>Carry on. </p>
<p>To the point of bruising? What the heck? This is nuts. What’s ok? a tiny bruise ok? a baseball sized one not? Just crazy.</p>
<p>This is the same state whose lower legislative house recently passed a bill that would legalize discrimination against gay individuals. (Fortunately the upper house said no.) Nothing a Kansas legislator proposes could surprise me.</p>
<p>Appalling.</p>
<p>^^^^I know. I think some people like the legislator who crafted this bill believe that the reason “ill behaved” children are like that is because their parents don’t spank. No, it’s because their parents don’t use any kind of discipline. You’ve seen those kids-they are the ones who run the show at their homes. There are few rules, and what rules there are aren’t enforced consistently. Their parents cave in to tantrums. They don’t want to “upset” their children. There is lots of yelling but very little communicating. Their parents aren’t plugged in, engaged, invested. They do what’s easy rather than doing what requires patience and dedication. They take the easy way, and in the end, the kids pay, because they have problems with peers and teachers, and later, spouses and employers.</p>
<p>I was never spanked. But I knew what the rules were, and if I crossed the line, there was a consequence I didn’t like, each and every time. I knew my parents meant business. So I really didn’t misbehave all that much, not because I was a good person, but because I understood the reality of negative consequences. I cannot imagine what it would feel like if person who is supposed to love you more than their own life hits you until you bruise.</p>
<p>I get that some parents spank. That smack on the behind when the kid misbehaves, I do get it. But spanking so hard and so many times (up to 10 times?!) that there is a BRUISE left behind? That’s just legally sanctioned beating, and it just amazes me that a presumably educated, thoughtful legislator would propose such a thing.</p>
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Hard to imagine, but “kids bounce back” and still love their parents. Bruising is extreme, though.</p>
<p>We get a lot of extreme bills like this in Utah. (Big surprise.) My own theory is that the sponsoring legislator is pandering to some whack-job constituent(s) who makes largish campaign contributions. Since the bills won’t pass, and the legislator knows it (I think), there’s usually no downside.</p>
<p>", it’s because their parents don’t use any kind of discipline. </p>
<p>You’ve seen those kids-they are the ones who run the show at their homes. There are few rules, and what rules there are aren’t enforced consistently. </p>
<p>Their parents cave in to tantrums. They don’t want to “upset” their children. </p>
<p>There is lots of yelling but very little communicating. </p>
<p>Their parents aren’t plugged in, engaged, invested. </p>
<p>They do what’s easy rather than doing what requires patience and dedication. They take the easy way, and in the end, the kids pay, because they have problems with peers and teachers, and later, spouses and employers."</p>
<p>Exactly! </p>
<p>I have a sister in law who couldn’t get her little ones dressed because, “they won’t let me dress them.” (She also couldn’t get them into car seats) A parent doesn’t need to use corporal punishment to get little ones dressed. You might need to use some strength and show who’s boss when a 2 year old is moving in crazy directions to avoid being strapped into the car seat. lol</p>
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<p>Hmmm… sounds just like the kid sitting behind me on the plane right now. :-L </p>
<p>Children need to be treated in developmentally appropriate ways for their individual age and life skill level. This is called guidance and it is different than the standard method of discipline. Guidance seeks to teach a child the appropriate ways to behave in a democratic society, and assumes that children don’t yet know how they should be acting because they are too young and inexperienced. Children have mistaken behavior, not misbehavior. They do not yet know what is expected of them and need to be taught how to behave in various situations. They need to be guided firmly yet friendly. Physical discipline is not acceptable developmentally appropriate practice at any age, and only produces children who believe that violence is this the way to handle disagreements. </p>
<p>As a student, I personally don’t see anything wrong with paddling high school kids who really misbehave (e.g., consistently being rude/bullying/being juvenile delinquents without doing anything actually criminally illegal). Not elementary school kids and not at home (but parents can administer punishment however they want, as long as it’s not abuse). Referrals to the office don’t get kids to behave, so maybe a little corporal punishment would get them into shape. </p>
<p>^^if another student, or a stranger, took a wooden object and deliberately struck someone with it, that would be a criminal act – so it’s just as criminal for a teacher to do it. Bullying someone as a response to bullying is nonsensical, at best, and immoral in some instances. At school, we model the behavior we expect to see, regardless of the age of the student. (it would be profoundly more humiliating to paddling a teen, imho.)</p>
<p>I’ve lived in places where teachers can legally cane students. Spanking seems mild by comparison.</p>
<p>Corporal punishment is a hot button issue for me. I don’t believe in hitting children (nor any human beings I can think of - even the guy who came up with this bill). However, didn’t certain laws used to stipulate that corporal punishment became a crime when marks were left? In other words, if bruising your child through corporal punishment becomes legal behavior, at what point does corporal punishment become a crime? When you break a bone or two?</p>
<p>Hoping that WasatchWriter is correct and this is just “pandering to some whack-job constituents.” Which has been known to happen.</p>
<p>I’m a proponent of slapping all male hands that are reaching into holiday foods before the platters are ready to be served. 
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I think one thing that makes this topic difficult to discuss is the overstatement in the sentence above. Many, many people (myself included) received mild physical discipline as children, and we did not grow up to be abusive parents. Indeed, at least where I lived, the vast majority of kids received some physical discipline. Those of us who received occasional mild spankings just don’t perceive it as equivalent to caning or beatings. To me, the best argument against physical discipline is that there’s too much of a risk of going over the line (and causing bruises is clearly over the line). </p>
<p>It’s not okay to hit adults. Actually it’s called Assault and Battery. So why would a state advocate violence against the most vulnerable in our society? These people are sick and twisted individuals.</p>
<p>We’ve come a long way in our understanding of what physical discipline does to a child’s development, and it only makes them believe that the most powerful people get to have their way over the less powerful. Children need to learn to trust in the adults who care for them so that they can develop securely and learn to function in society. They should not be subject to punishment by those who love them, but rather should be guided to learn the behaviors that will benefit them for a lifetime. Shaming a child by hitting them, whether it is mildly or more aggressively, does not teach children the right lessons. I know there are many who grew up with mild spanking and are just fine. That still doesn’t make that the right approach. And hitting a child to the point of bruising is absolutely abusive. I’m a mandatory reporter and if I saw bruises on a child, I would be required by law to report that to the state. </p>