Welcome to another week.
A mother in Louisiana has had her three sons removed from her care after she was arrested on suspicion of whipping them with an electrical cord and belt, for burglarising a neighbour’s house. The mother’s assault left the boys, aged 13, 12 and 10, with cuts and bruises.
Following her arrest, the mother said, “”It’s been hell. I never could imagine that trying to be a good mother would end me up in jail with a criminal record like I’m a predator out to hurt my kids who I live for.”
East Baton Rouge District Attorney Hillar Moore who is overseeing the case, has promised to review all the materials available before making a decision on whether to bring criminal charges against the mother. He is also noted to have said: “Surely you would expect a parent to discipline a child who is burglarising other people’s homes as this could be a deadly encounter for the child.”
Laws relating to corporal punishment in America vary from state to state, but are broadly similar to the UK’s own policy which allows for parents to hit their children, as long as the assault is considered to be ‘reasonable’ and does not leave a physical mark on, or break the skin.
A growing body of research is emerging which reinforces the view that children do not just suffer physically as a result of being hit by a parent, but emotionally too and that the damage can last well into adulthood.
However, parents in both the US and the UK continue to assault their children, with 6 out of 10 parents of children aged up to 4 in the UK saying they hit their children and 4 out of 5 Americans believing that hitting children is sometimes appropriate.
Adults hitting other adults in both America and the UK, however, is not tolerated. Even if an attack does not leave a mark, the perpetrator of that attack in the UK can still be charged with common assault, a crime which carries with it a maximum penalty of six months’ imprisonment and/ or a fine.
Our question then, is just this: what do you think justifies the distinction between the legalisation of assault on children, and the criminalisation of assault for adults?
Researching Reform 
I believe children should not be smacked or hit.I also believe that no parents should be prosecuted for chastising their children physically if they believe that is sometimes the right thing to do.Sp
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“Spare the rod and spoil the child” was the mantra when I was young and the “nanny State” is too fond of imposing rules on parents and others simply to keep them in line with politically correct thinking which can in any event reverse itself in very short spaces of time.Irepeat that corporal punishment is wrong but not so wrong that we should impose that view on others who dispute it
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Thank you for your thoughts FA. However they don’t address the question. What to your mind justifies the legalisation of assault on minors by parents when we have a total ban for adult on adult assault? This includes parent on child assault once the child is no longer a minor.
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I do not believe in smacking children no matter what the reason.
However I do understand this mother smacking the children for burgulary- as its a crime.
Which would have been better ? report her own children to police and have them locked up – children’s institutions in USA are not fun and violence is rampant, or whip them herself?
Violence begets violence- simple as.
We need to look at this mother’s childhood and most likely whipping was the punishment she received for being naughty.
No wonder violence in the home never seems to end.
A better way is to educate this mother on alternative disciplines and once she sees how they work, she will continue, children will be happier and family can remain together.
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You ask, “What do you think justifies the distinction between the legalisation of assault on children, and the criminalisation of assault for adults?”
I do not ‘justify’, but simply point out that there are very severe ‘sanctions’ available in retaliation or punishment against an adult who does something which The Law says is wrong, sanctions which the adult FULLY understands. There are no such sanctions against a child, who would not understand it if there were.
How does one tell a naughty child that he or she must not poke a stick into the eyes of his baby brother?
There is a very big difference between what is TECHNICALLY an ‘assault’, & an ACTUAL assault. .
There is a very big difference between a a parental smack on the legs or the bottom, & a blow.
To make a child ‘sit on the naughty step’, or stand in a corner, is, ‘technically’, imprisonment.
To deprive a child of his/her favourite pudding is ‘technically’ semi-starvation.
It is all a question of proportionality.. .
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You ask, “What do you think justifies the distinction between the legalisation of assault on children, and the criminalisation of assault for adults?”
I do not ‘justify’, but simply point out that there are very severe ‘sanctions’ available in retaliation or punishment against an adult who does something which The Law says is wrong, sanctions which the adult FULLY understands. There are no such sanctions against a child, who would not understand it if there were.
How does one tell a naughty child that he or she must not poke a stick into the eyes of his baby brother?
There is a very big difference between what is TECHNICALLY an ‘assault’, & an ACTUAL assault. .
There is a very big difference between a a parental smack on the legs or the bottom, & a blow.
To make a child ‘sit on the naughty step’, or stand in a corner, is, ‘technically’, imprisonment.
To deprive a child of his/her favourite pudding is ‘technically’ semi-starvation.
It is all a question of proportionality.
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I have found that almost all children are very reasonable. On the rare occasion i expressed anger at an action of my child, i always immediately, apologized for shouting and then, we would discuss the action that caused my anger i.e. it is dangerous to remove socket-protectors and stick a metal screwdriver into the plug-socket because it can make people very poorly or die and i love him so much, i could not bear for him to be hurt – i shed some tears too. He gave me a hug and said “sorry Mummy, i won’t do it again” and he never did.
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Reblogged this on World4Justice : NOW! Lobby Forum..
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There is no justification for hitting a child or anyone. However, sometimes people are driven to reacting violently against violent or dangerous actions – this type of emotional response is a known factor and is in many respects, a natural response; laws and education minimize the likelihood that adults will behave violently i.e. this is achieved by the way we raise our children and that is why we have laws. There are many ways of responding to a child’s bad behaviour; physical violence actually, most serves to reinforce further and even worse bad behaviour, in adulthood.
One question: If a child can whipped to the point of bleeding for burglaring a house, WHAT should happen then, to adults in power who commit even WORSE atrocities? It is the HYPOCRISY of adults that is highlighted here i.e. strain-at-gnats and swallow-camels.
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This wasn’t smacking! It was whipping and the use of a belt is excessive. However some families believe in “spare the rod, spoil the child” and rather than penalise the parents it would be better to educate them and proffer alternatives! The child would be harmed more if taken into care!
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Reblogged this on Musings of a Penpusher and commented:
The old saying; ‘spare the rod and spoil the child’ is no longer permitted, so what price discipline?
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Thank you for sharing your thoughts and provoking me to ponder on this difficult subject. I am currently looking at the method called [ Non Violent Communication ] as a means of communicating to my beloved grandchildren.
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Thank you for your comment, 2BKind, we’re glad you found the post thought provoking and we wish you lots of luck with your research.
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Here is one of the first and most sweetest videos I stumbled on about the subject: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-129JLTjkQ
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This is lovely, thank you.
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You are welcome beloved
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