Spare The Rod, Spoil The Child: What Constitutes As Child Abuse?

Lately there has been an illuminating light over the subject of child abuse with the Adrian Peterson case. As virtually everyone knows, Adrian Peterson was indicted on child abuse charges in connection with his 4 year old son. Reports from Peterson, as well as other family members stated that no one would have thought that it would cause the child harm because Peterson himself was raised by being disciplined in the same manner. I am not here to debate on whether Adrian Peterson was wrong or right, or where the line of discipline and abuse was crossed, that is up to the judicial system. My question is what constitutes as child abuse? Spanking and smacking? Or is it determined by who actually carries out the actions?

Upon researching the Peterson case it came to my attention that 19 states (Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Wyoming), within the United States still allow for corporal punishment in the school systems. Corporal punishment is defined as a noun meaning physical punishment, such as caning or flogging; punishment under the law that includes imprisonment and death. With that being said; schools are allowed to discipline our children physically, but if we do the same we are facing prison time. Is it right for teachers and school officials to be able to spank your child, but at the same time turn you into Child Protective Services when you do so? Who determines where to place that fine line between child abuse and discipline? Who gets to make the call on who is able to enforce the punishment? Who is held responsible if something happens?

According to Department of Educations’ Civil Rights Data Research (CRDC) of 2006, an estimated total of 223,190 students without disabilities received corporal punishment nationwide that year only. That is 223,190 families who would’ve faced abuse charges if they would have carried out the act themselves, but since it is carried out by a school official it is supposed to be justified. Where does it stop? If corporal punishment/discipline is banned in the home, why isn’t it banned in the school systems? Should this be an issue that the states themselves have power over, or should it be left up to the Federal government to implement statutes practiced by all states? Who gets to make that call? In this situation, it is neither about the parents nor the schools; this issue is exclusively about the children at hand. Are we teaching our children that a stranger may discipline them, but their own parents cannot? Without any bit of uniformity surrounding the issue, there will never be a resolve. It is saddening that thousands of children have to be harmed for this issue to come to light, but it is one that needs to be addressed.

Of course the argument comes into play, “Well that is the way I was raised and there is nothing wrong with me.” Yes, a majority of us were spanked as children growing up and for some it helped to keep us off of the streets, and for others it just made us too scared of our parents to do anything out of the ordinary. Spanking is not the issue, abuse is. Not every child needs to be spanked, every child reacts differently to diverse discipline methods, and it is up to the parent to determine what is right for their child. In my opinion spanking your children is a way to discipline your child effectively, but what happens when your power to discipline your child is transferred to a stranger (or the schools)? Is it abuse when the parent does it, but not the school? What happens when the school drops the ball and your child is not being disciplined at all? If we spare the rod, and spoil the child what happens next? In America, we are quick to implement rules when there is a popular issue arising, but we do not take the time to look at the effects of our decisions. Should it be up to the parent, the school, or the judicial system to discipline our children? What are your thoughts?Xoxo