If you spank you child?

Question

and the state tries to get you for child abuse, can you use your religion to fight them? since the state says not to touch your child in anyway, you must talk and put them in time out.

from what I am told you cant even use your hand

I had a teacher tell me I could not swat my childs behind, I did it when we were in the school, my 5 year old kept running off and I swated his behind, she told me if I ever did that again, she would turn me in for abuse.

Answer 1

There is a difference between spanking and beating.

Spanking is the parents right to do so...but beating a child has no excuse.

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The reason you can't use religion as an excuse to beat your kid is the same reason we can't do animal sacrifices now. The supreme court said that it's animal cruelty...so it's the same thing, using religion to defend your beatings...except child abuse, endangerment, and cruelty.
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I would tell that teacher she needs to mind her own business, because if she wants to know abuse you'll drag her out of that school and give her a beating worth calling the police for...LOL!!! OH MAN!! I would've love to have seen some of my teachers beaten up by a parent!

Answer 2

It is not against the law to spank your child, though a lot of people would like you to think so. It's actually child abuse not to discipline them. Just do it the right way. Dont spank in anger. Make sure the punishment fits the crime. If done properly, they learn respect for authority. If parents don't take the responsibility for training their kids, I don't think we'll have space enough on the earth to house all the criminals we're raising pretty soon. I am not condoning beating children. But disobedience must be dealt with early. Use a ping pong paddle and only on the rear end. A few whacks should be enough. Be sure they know why they're being punished and give them a hug and tell them you love them afterwards.
P.S. Even if it were illegal, this is an example of Acts 5:29 "We ought to obey God rather than men" . You are ultimately responsible before God as to how you raise your children. Proverbs has a lot to say about this. I wish someone had spanked me when I was a kid. It would have spared me a lot of heartache later in life. I heard a saying once - if you don't spank them when they're young, the world will spank them when they're older.

Answer 3

I was raised without spanking, on a unilateral "people aren't for hitting" principle.

I turned out fine, or at very least, would not be signifigantly different if I had been spanked. ... if anything I think its very imaginable that I'd be a worse person because of it. (more jaded, more harsh, generally coarser)

some people don't seem to realize that no hitting does not mean no discipline, there is still punishment and consequences, and *that* is universally neccesary.

now, the *tricky* part, is that while SOME people can be raised and be just fine like that. *I* never got so out of control that it would have helped. but SOME cannot. some people need that harsher enforcement to get the point across.

I think a *large* amount of people, *CAN* be raised without being struck whatsoever, if they are raised in such circumstances from the get go.

Teachers, Babysitters, generically should *not* be permitted to strike a child in any disciplinary way.

do you really want strangers given permission to hit kids? seems rather obvious that this is a bad idea.

but parents SHOULD be able to spank when neccesary... though, it should not be a religious issue, for the reasons mentioned, it should simply be something that, within reason parents need to be able to do.

the worst part is that in cases where it is needed, not getting it makes everything worse and it just goes downhill.

Answer 4

You can too spank your children in America. But theres a difference between spanking, and beating. And thats something parents need to understand. Young children don't really know that what they did was shameful, or that they hurt their parents by not obeying them. So thats why we inflict a bit of pain. If the stove is hot, and they touch it.. they will generally never do that again. Children understand pain = no. And its an excellent way to set boundaries, and a structure for them to use throughout their lives.

Yes, you can tell them you spank your child, but you do not abuse them. There is an extremely large difference. You can alternate between time outs, spankings, and other forms of discipline. I find that a quick swat will generally stop the child from deliberately misbehaving. If I were to have grown up without spankings, I would have probably been a more horrific adult then what I was.. and it probably would have been harder for me to turn to the Lord. "Spare the rod, spoil the child" Spoiling children is NOT a good thing. Not only does it install the idea of them having options, and whatever they want, they can get.. But it can also turn your children into greedy, selfish adults. Which is a very bad thing indeed.

With love through Christ Jesus,

Dusty

Answer 5

Interesting question. Why not expand this out a bit? Let's say the state says it's okay to spank a child if it okay with your religion. Fine. Now, let's say that, in your religion, it is okay for a husband to beat his wife if she is not properly submissive. Should the husband be arrested for spousal abuse or should he be allowed to since it is protected by his religion?

Easy one, right? Of course the husband should be arrested.

Except, you're already allowing violence to be perpetrated in a family if that's their belief. What's the difference between it being a wife and a child? Perhaps it could be the severity of the beating, but how would you feel if your husband or boyfriend even just slapped you?

The problem is that people are able to hide behind their religion for these abuses, even very severe ones. For instance, there was the Muslim man in Germany who, recently, was exonerated from thrashing his wife. Why? Because his religion said it was okay. Insane, right? How is that really any different from what you're saying?

I'm going to avoid the discussion on whether the state has a right to tell parents how to raise their children. That is a different argument entirely.

Oh, and you might want to actually look up the law instead of relying one what someone else said. People have a tendency to be wrong.

Answer 6

Actually the state doesn't say that - look into the actualy law. Most states actually uphold a parent's right to spank their child in a reasonable manner - defined as open hand on the botoom, mild force and 2-3 swats. Anything that leaves a mark for more that 24 hours is considered excessive force and abuse.

Can you use your religion? Sure, some have tried. Didn't see to get them anywhere though.

Answer 7

In your situation; I would :

1) spank the teacher

2) Verify the law through independent means; i. e. contact state agencies myself and ask the statue number(s) and then look them up online to read for myself.

In actual pratice, it might be better to do 2) before 1). If you find out through independent information that the teacher is incorrect, I would definitely print out a copy of the law and confront the teacher. With a copy of the law in my hand to prove what is correct, if the teacher is wrong, (which I STRONGLY suspect the teacher IS WRONG), I would then ask for a deputy sheriff to accompany me, confront the teacher with the deputy and the law, and ask the deputy to correct the teacher. This is by no means funny. I cannot imagine any state actually legislating "time out".

Your story sounds like an uninformed teacher who thinks it is their job to enforce an imaginary law. Typical beaurecrat, with an inflated sense of self-importance and righteousness.

My wife and I Homeschool and I haven't had to spank in several years; because we did when they were younger. When I hear stories such as yours, I know in my heart why we Homeschool. We also don't have to have a metal detector at the front door.

Answer 8

Spanking your child is not wrong. Abusing your child is. My daughter who is 24 is a very responsible working adult who was spanked maybe 5 times in her whole life. Talking is good before and after punishment, time out works for certain things., spanking should always be done as a last resort. Do you allow your toddler just to play with the light sockets?And put them in time out when they dont understand yet the meaning of time out? Or do you smack their hand and say NO, to teach them?

Answer 9

Well, my children are not out of the danger zone at 3 and 5 so I should be able to continue to spank them as I see fit. I believe the states have more important issues than if a parent is trying to do a good job. The state also can not even keep control of crime so what do they know of appropriate punishment. The state does not pay my bills so they can keep out of my way...or I will spank them.

Answer 10

Here in Canada the Law says that you can spank your child with your hand, but you must not use any kind of object like a stick or a paddle. You can only be charged if you use an object.