Whether or not to spank your children should be a parent’s choice, not the government’s. However, the government begs to differ. Until recently, spanking was a tried and true method of discipline. Unfortunately for spankers in California, it may soon be illegal.
California assemblywoman Sally Lieber is making an effort to pass a “no spanking” law for children under the age of four. If this law is passed, parents could be fined $1,000 or thrown in jail for a year if convicted of spanking. While Lieber may be trying to protect children from abuse, it hardly seems that yanking a parent from the home is in the best interest of the child. It is the parent’s responsibility to determine what type of punishment is appropriate, not the state’s.
The Washington Times quoted Lieber as saying, “A pat leads to a beating, which leads to death.” Give parents some credit; not everyone beats their children. If a spank leaves a mark, that’s abuse. If not, it is a suitable method of discipline. Most parents love their kids and want to do what’s best for them. They should be the ones to draw the line between a pat and a beating.
Let’s say a young child reaches for a pan on a hot stove. What do you do? Most parents tap their children on the hand to quickly get their attention. It is a suitable way to get them to stop and guarantee that they don’t do it again. A tap on the hand is certainly not child abuse. It is simply a parent trying to prevent their child from getting hurt. Lieber, however, claims that it is an act of violence.
Honestly, what’s next? Telling parents what to feed their children or how to appropriately potty train them? This law would hold the same regard-it is just not necessary. If a child is abused, of course the government should intervene, but a tap on the bottom? Please.
Sally Lieber says she wants to enact this law because “it should be illegal to beat a child.” Isn’t beating already against the law? Amusingly, Miss Leiber has no children of her own. She’s never had to deal with a child putting a finger in the light socket or a hair dryer in the bathtub. Why should she be the one telling parents how to raise their children when she doesn’t have firsthand experience as a parent?
And how exactly does the government plan on regulating this law? They have yet to say. When the law was proposed, even Gov. Schwarzenegger said, “How do you enforce that?” Surely parents won’t be turning themselves in. Will it be random phone calls from various people who saw mom spank little Timmy? Or do they plan on putting cameras in homes? Either way, enforcement isn’t feasible.
Passing this law will likely not decrease the child abuse statistics. If a parent plans on beating a child, they will do so without regard to the law. Our government would be wasting time focusing on the “spankers” when they could be worrying about the more dangerous child abusers. The University of California at Berkley did a 12-year longitudinal study of 100 middle-class children and found that spanking had no negative effects on cognitive or social skills.
While Sweden outlawed all forms of corporal punishment in 1979, at least they implemented parent education programs. Since then, their child abuse statistics have dropped–not because a $1,000 fine or a year of jail time was slapped on the parent. Lieber should place emphasis on taking the time to educate parents on how to appropriately discipline their children. Unfortunately, she has yet to announce any correlation of family education classes with the newly proposed law.
Oklahoma passed a law in 1999 that allowed parents to spank their children with wooden paddles. Now that’s a beating. So why does California have an issue with a slap on the behind? Yes, many people agree with the saying “spare the rod, spoil the child,” and that’s fine. But if you don’t agree with it, keep your mouth shut. It is a parent’s duty to decide what is right for their child, not the state’s.