[Lady Eileen]

but if I did that with my 2 youngest ones, I'd probably be in trouble.

You sure would, especially if either of them attend government school. A friend of mine was tutoring a high school student for health class last year. He was quite appalled to see instructions in the textbook for students to immediately report parents that spank or yell or make them feel bad emotionally to Child Protective Services.

And, just in case the student might be concerned about how to live if her parents were carted off to jail, the text reassured that the students could collect welfare benefits if needed.

[zook]

Any Phil Hendrie radio fans? A couple years back he did one of his phony radio interviews with a child psychologist and author who was complaining about how it had become impossible to discipline kids anymore. He was going along kind of normal until he said something like, "remember back in the late 50's and early 60's it was considered appropriate for a parent to fill a pillowcase full of canned goods and hit their kids with it..." at which point, of course, Hendrie blows up and the calls start coming in! It was great stuff!

[TheSpottedOwl]

And, just in case the student might be concerned about how to live if her parents were carted off to jail, the text reassured that the students could collect welfare benefits if needed.

Don't you just love it? A delinquent collecting welfare bennies. Hey now, some kids are really being abused, but they're the ones who don't report it because of fears of reprisals. It's the brats with the emotional and behavioral problems who set up Mom and Dad because they don't get things their own way.