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 Some people see spanking as an outdated method of punishment or even child abuse, while others view a swat on the bottom as a parent's prerogative.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?
Parenting Expert
What happened when Sweden banned spanking is that child abuse increased. Diana Baumrind, the foremost researcher on parrenting outcomes, finds that parents who spank are less likely to explode in violent rages toward their children than parents who self-report that they do not spank. There has not been enough time to measure the full effect of New Zealand's law, and I find it fascinating that CED uses, as their example, a law that has been in effect less than a year and not the Scandinavian laws that have been in effect over ten years. Why? Because the long-term outcome of anti-spanking laws is less than good. In the USA, liberals have demonstrated that once they gain victory in some social policy area, they cannot be restrained. The bureacracies that will be necessary to enforce anti-spanking legislation in the USA will seek to expand themselves. There has not been one social bureacracy that has not done so. This will mean, ultimately, state interference in all discipline matters, and it will erode the foundation of the family.
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