Court rules it's ‘reasonable use of force’ for parents to spank their kids (NY)

New York Daily News ^ | Sunday, July 20, 2014, 10:28 PM | Dareh Gregorian, Ryan Sit, Erin Durkin

[Olog-hai]

Watch your butts, kids—a state appeals court says it’s OK for parents to spank them.

In a ruling Wednesday, the state Appellate Division found that a Long Island father’s spanking of an 8-year-old boy “was a reasonable use of force.”

A Suffolk County Family Court judge had determined last year that the father of the boy had abused his son “by inflicting excessive corporal punishment.”

The father allegedly spanked the child with an open hand as punishment for cursing while they were at a party at friend’s home back in 2012, the appeals court ruling says. …

[jsanders2001]

They said that in New York?! I’m shocked!

[rjsimmon]

while they were at a party at friend’s home

Glad for the ruling but the line I caught made me wonder just which "friend" ratted out the father for this act of parenting?

[ExCTCitizen]

I guess a busy body called DCF on the dad...spanking is not abuse

[oh8eleven]

... made me wonder just which "friend" ratted out the father for this act of parenting?
It was probably the kid. They gots rights don't ya' know.

[DannyTN]

After reading the article, it sounds like open hand is okay, but belt bad.

I would think the belt would be safer, as an open hand has more mass, where as a belt gives.

[Opinionated Blowhard]

But new mom Jennifer Smith, of Sunnyside, Queens, said it’s not an acceptable form of punishment. “I don’t believe in spanking,” she said. “I just think it’s a little barbaric at this point. There’s so many other ways of discipline.”

Give it a couple years, Jennifer. When you find out that "time outs" don't always stop your little treasure from screaming in front of guests, or throwing himself down on the ground in the store and throwing a tantrum, we'll see if you still think a smack on the butt is barbaric.

[DoughtyOne]

Now, good luck using corporal punishment in the real world. One bruise and you’re considered the pariah of the century. So while you’re trying to raise good kids, the social engineers will fight you every step of the way, and their government apparatus will literally destroy you. The full weight and pressure of “the system” will be leveled against you. These children that intuitively know they’ve done wrong will be so psychologically screwed up, that they will be referred to the system’s shrinks to get them squared away. And thus the life of dependence is entrenched. Even as adults these kids will have severe problems coping with life’s rules. A Democrat in the making...

[Born to Conserve]

The same ruling should have condemned the prosecutor to permanent litter patrol along a busy highway with a sign saying “I was a very bad boy”.

[Impala64ssa]

When I was growing just the mere threat of a spanking was enough to keep me in line, most of the time. My parents did use a lot of restraint the few times they let me have it, and looking back I did have it coming to me on those occasions.

[veracious]

Hurrah! USG did something right with this ruling.

[Revelation 911]

mixed emotions on this one - by todays standards, Dad would be jailed....rightly so

beatings and spankings are two different things -

[Noamie]

There comes a time in every child’s life when it’s time to get a tooshie slap.

The hope is that the first one makes enough of an impression that from then on, it’s the “threat” that works, not a whole lot more slap-slappin’.

That’s all my father had to do. One good time and I had enough.

[CodeToad]

The Dr. Spock model of child neglect is all I see anymore: Parents too lazy to discipline a child. Instead we get this through every store and restaurant: “Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, Michael, ...”

[yefragetuwrabrumuy]

The first picture, supposedly of a mother swatting her daughter on the rear, must have been a challenging photo shoot for both the models, and the photographer, to avoid any hint of “naughtiness” that could legally change it to being child porn.

This is because the law is so bizarre and nebulous that pictures of even clothed children, posed in many ways, or physically interacting with an adult, could be slapped with that label. All sorts of other normal behavior is also borderline.

[Cementjungle]

I’ll never forget the time my dad tried to spank me with his bedroom slipper. I couldn’t help myself, and started to laugh... so we went and got the belt. That worked better!

[kidd]

I would think the belt would be safer, as an open hand has more mass, where as a belt gives.

Kinetic energy is equal to 1/2 mv2, where m is the mass and v2 is the velocity squared.

Since velocity is squared and mass isn't, it is velocity that is of greater importance.

The whipping action of a belt, and the ability to follow through with a swing, results is a velocity that is greater than what the arm can provide in a spank. Furthermore, the kinetic energy is applied to a smaller area on a belt than with the hand.

[Resolute Conservative]

Exactly. Spank them when young and they grow up not wanting to be spanked. I got maybe a half dozen before 7-9 years old that I can remember and none after that because I towed the line.

[Resolute Conservative]

How about a pencil?

[Olog-hai]

A pencil for what?

Pencils will be accelerated only as rapidly as the hand, FTR. ½mv² still applies.