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Only on the Left Coast
January 20, 2007Okay...raise your hand if you were spanked as a child.
(raises hand)
This gem of a story out of sunny California.
Making spanking a crime. My mom and dad would have been put away for life.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - California parents could face jail and a fine for spanking their young children under legislation a San Francisco Bay area lawmaker has promised to introduce next week.Democratic assemblywoman Sally Lieber said such a law is needed because spanking victimizes helpless children and breeds violence in society.
"I think it's pretty hard to argue you need to beat a child," Lieber said. "Is it OK to whip a 1-year-old or a 6-month-old or a newborn?"
Lieber said her proposal would make spanking, hitting and slapping a child under 4 years old a misdemeanor. Adults could face up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.
Aides to the assemblywoman said they are still working on a definition for spanking.
Some Republican lawmakers called the idea ridiculous. But Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said he may be receptive to it even though he has concerns about how the ban would be enforced.
The governor said he and his wife, Maria Shriver, did not spank their four children and used alternative methods for discipline. For example, Schwarzenegger said they found it more effective to threaten to take away their children's play time if they didn't do school work.
"They hate that much more than getting spanked," he told reporters Friday in Los Angeles.
California law permits spanking by parents unless the degree of force is excessive or not appropriate for the child's age.
I'll admit, I'm a fan of the spanking. I don't see a problem with it as long as it's administered like it was to me.
My parents never really spanked or slapped me in public or anything like that. It was totally psychological for me.
The general method was this:
- I did something stupid and wrong.
Got in trouble for it.
- My parents confronted me about it and let me know their disappointment in my poor decision making
- I was then sent to my room to "think" about it (which was actually the worst part for me)
- Then my dad came to my room and administered the punishment. Usually with a belt.
I still joke to this day about the fear that I have of the sound of my dad's keys rattling in his pockets. He keeps his silver wedding band on his keys and silver has a particular chime to is when it's banging around with metal.
That sound coming down the hallway was horrible. And enough to make me think seriously about what I've done.
And I'll say that it worked with me and my sisters (mainly me). We're pretty much completely normal. My family as a whole is mostly normal.
A combination of good parenting and discipline and I'll do the exact same to my kids if it means they learn to make the right decisions.
People who jerk their kids around in public and beat them openly aren't doing a very good job. I think they are failing miserably as a parent.
When I was a camp counselor at the YMCA, I had kids with a wide wide variety of family backgrounds good and bad.
It only took a few weeks, and I had almost complete control of their behavior using the same mental techniques as my parents. It's amazing what a stern glance can do or a slight shake of the head that tells them "I do not approve of what you are doing."
Those three years with the YMCA completely opened my eyes. My parents were smart. Turns out...they WERE right.
Well, mostly right.
Posted by Jason Palmer at 12:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
