You have probably heard the expression, "Spare the rod, spoil the child." Do you agree with it? Perhaps you were spanked as a kid. Was it appropriate? Some people see spanking as an outdated method of punishment or even child abuse, while others view a swat on the bottom as a parent's prerogative. Where do we draw the line when it comes to disciplining our children?
We agree with Rosemond that “discipline” does not mean “to punish.” In fact the root word means to educate or teach, related to the Latin word ‘discipulus,” or “pupil.” But we significantly disagree with this statement from Rosemond: “Because of the nature of the child, this process [discipline] requires some amount of corrective punishment.” What “nature” in a child requires “punishment”? He does not explain this, nor does he explain how “corrective” punishment differs from just plain punishment. Instead he devolves to labeling again [“liberal activists”], and he raises the specter of the state interfering with parental right. While acknowledging that too many parents hit impulsively, Rosemond appears to think that if a parent follows up a spanking with some instructive words, that justifies the hitting. Consider the morality of the issue: does explaining why we hit someone or does having “corrective” motivation justify the striking if we are hitting a demented patient in a nursing home to correct their wandering off, or to correct an errant spouse, or employee? Most parents in this country, and all parents in 24 other nations in the world, effectively raise healthy children without ever hitting them. Spanking just isn’t necessary and the research consistently shows that children are better off without it, as are we as a society.
By what standard of cultural well-being can No Spankers claim that society is better off when children are not spanked? The countries that have banned spanking have done so primarily because they foolishly signed on to one of the most socialist documents of the 20th Century: The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which extends to the child the rights of unlimited access to all media, the right of freedom of association, and the like. It is yet another leftist attempt to create the socialist “village.” Comparisons to spouse abuse or smacking a nursing home patient=2 0are, yes, hysterical.
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