Court: Parents May Spank

ctnow.com (Hartford Courant) ^ | November 30, 2004 | COLIN POITRAS

[kidd]

Parents who spank their children as a form of discipline are not necessarily engaging in child abuse, even when they use a belt and leave a bruise, the state Appellate Court has said.

In a ruling released Monday, the judges recognized a parent's right to use "reasonable physical force" to discipline a child. They said that, before citing someone for physical abuse, the Department of Children and Families must take into account the circumstances surrounding the use of corporal punishment.

The judges said the agency's position that any non-accidental injury caused by a parent to a child qualifies as abuse is too narrow and in conflict with state law that allows "reasonable" corporal punishment of a child.

[BureaucratusMaximus]

Pipe down tough guy. I was spanked too as a kid and realistically I did come from a trashy upbringing.

Then you have the right not to spank you're kids...for ones that choose to, leave us the hell alone. Some of us parents came from an un-trashy upbringing and were spanked as children.

And from your reply I'm guessing you did too.

Now you're just being an a-hole.

[TheBigB]

I've hit exactly one person in my life...he called my Mom a nasty name when I was 12. He didn't do it again.

[NRA1995]

Does making said child wear underwear on its head count as abuse?

[workerbee]

Corporal punishment, IMO, works best when used carefully and sparingly, as a method of getting an out-of-control child's attention. Other methods, used correctly, are usually sufficient. If bruising your child with a belt is the only punishment you can come up with, your parenting toolkit is in serious need of upgrade.

Well said. I agree.

[Roccus]

There's no arguing with ignorance, Laddie.

[Borges]

That's interesting. It seems many people thiking think spanking is out after age 3 or so and that's completely contrary to what I always thought based on what I was like as a kid. Really young kids don't have a sufficiently developed sense of right and wrong anyway do they? But if a 9 or 10 year old knowlingly does something malicious after being warned not to and told the consequences there's nothing wrong with a non-enraged parent turning them over their knee.

[diamond6]

No! Don't be silly; I'm being misunderstood here. I fully support spanking as disclipine. I was simply asking how that one parent could spank her child and not have the child cry, thats all. Good grief.

[Canticle_of_Deborah]

One of the points those who are against spanking make is that children who are spanked will respond aggressively (as in hitting)later in life when faced with a situation that makes them angry. And you've just said that you'd beat the living hell of the poster you responded to. Not for any actual physical wrong, just for something that pi$$es you off.

The psych hospitals and prisons are full of people who were beaten as children.

And yes, there are a whole lot of sadists out there who call beating, "spanking". My father is one of them.

[webheart]

Making blanket statements like, "only trash hit their kids," is a sure way to start a fight. Your first mistake is to say that spanking and hitting are the same thing. They aren't. Hitting is done out of anger, and spankings are applied as punishment. My father spanked me when I was young, and I thank him for it. He was far from trash.

[dmz]

With my personal experience as a parent in mind, I have to wonder if those types of bruises are a result of the child's bad behavior or the parent's less-than-total control over their own anger.

I never left bruises, but I can tell you that sometimes the spanking was due to me being pi$$ed, with the punishment not fitting the crime, so to speak.

IMHO, the window for spanking being effective is very small.

[nightdriver]

"In a ruling released Monday, the judges recognized a parent's right to use "reasonable physical force" to discipline a child."

Does this give us any legal recourse when our children are kidnapped by CPS?

[geege]

Oh I remember the belt and the broom chasing....thank
goodnes there the was bed...you can crawl under it..your
parents couldn't....after a while they would chill out
and I would end up grounded.

[TChris]

I was simply asking how that one parent could spank her child and not have the child cry...

One of the worst spankings my older brother ever received was due to the fact that he could/would not stop laughing at my mother, even as she spanked him! She was paddling his butt with a wooden spoon and broke the handle, IIRC.

[dmz]

Wow. It took til post 31 for abortion to enter the discussion.

[MaineRepublic]

Yikes. This guy is a conservative?

[GSlob]

Maybe you should have carried out a simple experiment on that Bleeding Heart Liberal by spanking it (him/her - "it" suits better). Later it could be compared with a timeout.

[najida]

I am on the fence about this---

I think consistency and love is the key to this (like the kid knows you don't hate them and want them dead when the punishment starts).

I was beaten with a belt by an out-of-countrol crazed parent one time too many. I remember the sick-to-my gut fear and terror.... which became the favored form of discipline. So it became both physical and psychological.

If you can keep a cool head and it is for the purpose of teaching the child right from wrong, it may be OK. However, I also know from my own experience, that the moment you feel your anger taking over, you need to walk away and understand that spanking may be something you shouldn't do. Ever.

[katnip]

You know that 95% of the members of FreeRepublic spank their kids?

How do you have such wisdom?

Well it looks like about 99% of parents on this thread do!

[petitfour]

My son on the other hand has the spiritual sensitivity of a large cast iron boiler . . .

That is tooooo funny. I have a few of those. :)

[American_Centurion]

but I can tell you that sometimes the spanking was due to me being pi$$ed,

What exactly is wrong with that. I can see if you come home from work pissed off and start hitting your kid, that would be wrong, but when your child Pisses you off they are asking for punishment. That is part of the proper behavior lesson IMO.