So my rant this week was my 100th blog post. Love that my 100th post was a long rant.
We watch the US news at night. It gives us a little insight into what we’re missing, and we’re boring folk who like to watch the news. Tonight it was CNN Anderson Cooper 360. I couldn’t help laugh at the whole program. Anderson was trying to be super carrying and serious about the “severe form of corporal punishment.” Basically the author of the book “To Train Up a Child” was on and in his book they advocate spanking. Maybe I’m just a horrible awful person, but I just couldn’t help laugh at it.
I have to admit, my dad spanked me. In fact, once (and I don’t know what I did, but it must have been good) got myself a 15 year old spanking. I think I was more mortified than hurt. Anyway, that’s where my perspective comes from. My dad’s an 8th degree black belt, so trust me he knows how to break boards with those hands. But, if you gave me the option of being hit with his open palm or a belt or switch or what have you, I’d take his hand any day. I knew some kids whose dad’s used belts, and I felt for them!
So back to Anderson Cooper 360. They kept arguing about “hitting” versus “spanking,” as the author very seriously pointed out that hitting is using your hand and spanking is using an object like a plummer supply line, or 3 foot switch! I’m seriously messed up, because I laughed out loud when I heard that. The author of the book thought seeing a lady carrying around a switch to keep her kids in line was a humorous thing. Seriously, having an instrument to “spank” was more appropriate than hand spanking. Is this really the point to be debated? And how in the world could they even think being hit with a ruler was better than the nice soft cushyness of a hand?
So how does this translate to Brasil? Well my kid is too darn cute for me to ever want to or feel a need to spank him, or even want to, I think I’d cry. That kid is going to be a brat I’m sure since I’m too soft. Not because I don’t spank, just because I’m a push over to those big brown eyes.
Well last year Brasil passed a law banning spanking. That’s right no “spanking” or “hitting” no need for semantics, you just don’t hurt your child as a way to punish them. In fact degrading your child is illegal as well.
This law should be no surprise, Brasil loves children.
Where do I sit on the whole spanking thing? I don’t think it’s child abuse by any means, but I don’t think it is absolutely necessary. I can understand when you had 9 kids, were working a farm from sun up to sun down, you didn’t have time to do real discipline- a quick spank or threat of the spank kept your kids in line. But with most people with two or fewer children today, we have the time to discipline and spanking isn’t a tool we need to use anymore.