It's the same with rapists, axe murderers and OJs..

Children should be spanked / punished as needed. This is the parents decision and the Law and society needs to step off. If you don't have kids or yours are grown up they you can not relate to this. Trust me kids can push your buttons like none other. And once they grow up parents for get most of the frustration the children can cause.

Let the parent correct as they see fit. Only they know the child personality and how to reach them.

The neighborhood should beat the shit out of the parent if abuse occurs. If that does not correct the issue then bring in the LAW.

Great argument Bob, all you need to do is decide the exact measure of 'abuse vs. punishment' to decide if group beatings should be sanctioned or ignored accordingly...

^ i disagree.

http://pubpages.unh.edu/~mas2/CP24.pdf
http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/content/abstract/161/7/805
http://www.springerlink.com/content/x526215441037r74/
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/113/5/1321

I think smacking your for a just reason is ok. When I was a youngster, I kept trying to stick paper clips in the electrical sockets (eia!) When my mom saw me do that, I got the snot damn near beat out of me. It was rough, but let me tell ya, I never brought those two items near each other ever again!

Same thing happened to one of my best friends, when he was young, he started opening up the bottles under the sink and pouring drinks (eia!) Same thing, he got thumped pretty good, and never did he try and do that again.

It's such a fine grey line, that it's up to the parents foremost. With luck, they are using good judgment, and not doing it because they've had a shitty day at work.

In hindsight, I'm surprised I made it this long.

3 miles from home? 10 and 12? Hmm. It depends on the kids.


I used to walk home from school 2.5 miles through San Jose, CA, a city with a population of one million.


Does that make my mother an abusive parent?
Map of Route.

The difference, I'm sure, is that I knew the way, these two girls probably had no clue how to get home. Does that make it endangerment? A lapse of better judgement? Probably, but I don't think she should be prosecuted and have her daughters taken away. That's not going to solve anything.

>> ^Bruti79:
I think smacking your for a just reason is ok.

So smacking you for that comment is okay too?

Look, saying anybody between 15-50 who does not go to the trouble of avoiding having children somehow automatically has the ethical sense to make this assessment themselves is absurd. Having the capacity to fuck and breed means you are alive, it demonstrates, and should confer, no other competence or rights.

My assessment is that any activity intended to cause pain should be illegal. If you need to restrain the kids in your care, if you need systems of reward and punishment, fine, but striking people is not how disputes are (supposed to be) resolved in our society, and teaching children that you resolve disputes this way does them, and the rest of us, a grave disservice.