Should Maryland, Other States Legislate the End of Spanking?
Spanking your kids is really just hitting the defenseless, anti-spanking advocates say.
State Sen. Jamie B. Raskin (D-Montgomery) would like to see legal restrictions on the use of physical punishment against children in Maryland.
So far, he has had little success.
“It’s really entrenched in the culture. I do think we need a social movement against violence in the home," Raskin told The Washington Post in a report on a growing effort by legislators and activists to end the practice of spanking in the United States.
It's a complex issue rooted in culture and an American aversion to "the nanny state."
Read more about Raskin's role and the national effort in The Washington Post magazine's parenting edition online, and let us know in the comments section how you feel about parental spanking.
Do you take the stance of, "I was spanked and I turned out fine?" Or, do you see spanking as a parenting approach whose time has come and gone?
Craig
7:19 am on Friday, January 11, 2013
There truly isn't anything the government, specifically STATIST, SOCIAL ENGINEERING, LEFT-WING FREAKS won't touch. Spanking? Gotta ban it. Bottled water? Gotta ban it. Guns? Gotta ban 'em. Lightbulbs? Obey thy master!
Oh, but casinos? Gotta HAVE 'em. You know, for the "poor" and "teachers". Ever wonder why this country is slowly going morally, fiscally and socially bankrupt?
jag
12:21 am on Sunday, January 13, 2013
Huh? Because the state cares about defending against corporal punishment, gun violence, and protecting the environment that means they're morally bankrupt? Your moral compass appears to be pretty far out of whack.
Craig
11:56 pm on Wednesday, January 16, 2013
What about casinos jag? Gambling is pretty good for the poor folks isn't it?
MRHarmon
9:47 am on Friday, January 11, 2013
Yes! You may call it spanking but if the child was an adult it would be called assault and they would have recourse. It's barbaric!
Craig
11:29 am on Saturday, January 12, 2013
@MRHarmon, What about MSM or other fetishes where GROWN MEN allow themselves to be spanked? OMG!!! SO BARBARIC! BAN MSM AND ALL SEX SHOPS! BAN THEM! Also, we should ban sports for our children. Some of them get hurt and of course, getting picked last in gym class might hurt their feelings. BAN THEM! BAN GYM CLASS!
If a child acts out and a parent wants to give a quick, stern reprimand then I am ALL for spanking.
See, you'll argue to ban spanking but NOT to ban sex or violence on TV or in movies viewed by children... you know, the stuff that actually desensitizes them. THAT is why you are hack.
jag
12:22 am on Sunday, January 13, 2013
Craig, now you're being flat idiotic. Two consenting adults is completely different from assaulting children against their will. You're flat evil from the looks of your comments.
Craig
11:57 pm on Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Jag - it may be two consenting adults, but I view it as barbaric. Men dressed in leather and whipping one another. It just seems barbaric. We need to ban it.
Ian Cooper
10:24 am on Friday, January 11, 2013
Spanking is abusive. Those who defend it shouldn't be parents. Those parents who do it deserve to be in jail for child abuse. A decent society would have banned it decades ago.
Craig
11:30 am on Saturday, January 12, 2013
@Ian Cooper - we should ban all meat - it is barbaric to eat it, right? I mean, the way they make meat at these slaughterhouses is barbaric. We should ban it. So much to ban, so little time!
jag
12:23 am on Sunday, January 13, 2013
How is it barbaric to eat? How do you "make" meat? How many brain cells do you use when typing these crap comments?
Craig
11:59 pm on Wednesday, January 16, 2013
I love it when jag gets shrill. OK: one makes meat-based products. Does that suffice? Have you been to a slaughterhouse, read about one or seen footage? Pretty darn barbaric. We should ban pork, beef and chicken. The way these animals are killed is barbaric to some. We should ban it. See how slippery this slope becomes?