(July 23, 2016 at 3:38 am)Godschild Wrote: If I had children and they broke a rule that they knew would be punished by whipping yes I would. If they did something bad and did not understand fully what they had done then we would have a discussion, just as my parents did.
GC
The problem with "whipping" (which is a vague term that might only include spanking, but can just as likely include belting and beating and many other things) is that it is easy - very easy - to go too far. I believe the general rule in most states is that if it leaves a mark that lasts more than 24 hours, you are venturing into "abuse" territory. You need to have a very good amount of control to be able to use a belt to hit your kid and yet know exactly how much force to use and how frequently in order to not leave that kind of mark.
If parents want to spank, alright. I don't agree with it, but it's your right as a parent.
But once we get into this grey area where we are using outside resources and force to make the kid feel pain... that's just too easy to slide into maltreatment.
And what I never understood: why is it acceptable to hit a child - even to belt one - and yet if a person lays a hand one hand on a dog, it's considered animal abuse? Is there a specific reason for this?
