The State of Delaware has become the first in our nation to make it illegal for parents to spank their children according to this:
Excerpt from HSLDA’s website:
“Under the new law, a parent causing “physical injury” (e.g., pain) to a child under age 18 would be guilty of a class A misdemeanor and subject to one year in prison. A parent causing pain to a child who was 3 years of age or younger would be guilty of a class G felony and subject to two years in prison.”
Note that “pain” is the keyword here for us.
I’ve read over the bill and there is a lot of bad things this bill is written up to protect children from which is good… but in this bill tucked in about as a small as you can imagine possible you’ll find this:
(j) “Physical injury” to a child shall mean any impairment of physical condition or
pain.
You see, a spanking in and of itself is not abuse or physical injury. Yes, a little pain is part of the whole point behind getting a spanking! That little bit of temporary pain is what makes our children think twice about disobeying. And why? Because children want to do- what they want to do- when they want to do it. They are not very reasonable or logical. They don’t understand the trouble certain actions and behaviors will get them into and they need to be taught right from wrong and to respect others.
Pain is a part of life!
If lawmakers are so opposed to a little pain meant to help our children make better choices then perhaps they should ban sports because playing sports can/does cause pain and injury. How about closing down public schools because bullies cause pain and injury?
Does the State of Delaware really intend to send parents to jail if they spank their children? Not only would this be a violation of parental rights- period, but this would be a violation against the conscience of a parent whose religious convictions require the use of a spanking when they believe the child needs one. And lets be honest, many kids need a good butt-whooping now and then.
Change it!
My suggestion is to take the “pain” and any other “letters-of-the-law” that would turn loving caring parents into criminals out of this bill. Protect parent’s rights in this new bill! A parent should not have to be afraid to discipline their child in the way they see fit when it is not abusive. And a spanking is not abuse. It’s not. There are plenty of us who were spanked properly and those of us who were not and WE know the difference.
So what now, Delaware? Are you going to send the Christian parents to jail because they obeyed their religious conviction and spanked their unruly child?
Click here to read the new bill.
If you care about your parental rights, Christian or not, I suggest you follow the two places I’ve been following for some time: HSLDA and Parental Rights.org.
