Sally Lieber, a member of the California State Assembly, is introducing a bill which would outlaw the spanking of any child under the age of three. Such spanking would be a misdemeanor which, under California law, would subject an offender to a jail term of up to one year and/or a fine of up to $1,000. Needless to say, her proposed bill has already generated considerable controversy.
One one side you have the anti-corporal punishment crowd which claims that spanking teaches children that violence is an acceptable method of settling matters. The "violence begets violence" bunch is salivating over the possible passage of this law. At the same time, they are complaining that the bill does not go far enough because it does not outlaw corporal punishment altogether.
On the other side you have those who believe that corporal punishment, both at home and in the schools, is an effective means of disciplining unruly children. They are worried that this is just the first step in outlawing corporal punishment for children of all ages. Some civil libertarians object to this bill on the grounds that a law making it a crime to spank a child is an intrusion into the privacy rights of parents.
Lieber's bill will probably be passed by the California state legislature, especially since it will apply only to children under the age of three. I don't have a problem with such a bill, although I too am worried that this is just the first salvo in an attempt to outlaw corporal punishment altogether. Several states have already outlawed corporal punishment for all children.
If you read my blog, IT'S TOUGH TO BE A COP'S KID (December 23, 2006), you know that I favor the use of corporal punishment, as long as it's not administered in the heat of anger. I just can't buy into the anti-corporal punishment psycho babble put forth by childless child psychologists. When I was a cop, I came across a good number of really messed up kids who had a psychologist or a psychiatrist for a parent. The "never spank your child" bunch quite simply represents the pacifist segment of our society.
Why don't I object to Sally Lieber's bill? As a sensible psychiatrist put it, children under three are incapable of differentiating between right and wrong. They will not know why they are being spanked because they have not yet developed the language skills needed to understand why they are being punished. All that they will know is that spanking hurts. This psychiatrist advises parents to remove the child away from the object of his misbehavior or to take the object away from him. That's not psycho babble.
Anyhow, if Lieber's bill becomes law, it will be just about toothless. How can that law be enforced? Is a one or two year old child going to make a complaint with the authorities? If the spanking is not severe, will one spouse rat out the other? Hardly anyone will be jailed. What it boils down to is that this bill is a bit of feel-good legislation for those who are opposed to corporal punishment.
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