January 19, 2007

This, Folks is why.

Many people have asked why we don't have kids and aren't planning on them for a while.

Other than "It's none of your business," which most people don't appreciate, try this on for size:

California would become the first state to explicitly ban spanking for children younger than 4 under legislation to be introduced next week.

Slapping, smacking, whacking or kicking also would be outlawed.

Assemblywoman Sally Lieber, a Mountain View Democrat who is crafting the measure, said corporal punishment victimizes helpless children and contributes to a society "addicted to violence."

[...]

"To my mind, there's no amount of physical force that's appropriate on a child 3 years old or younger," Lieber said.

This is a normal spanking she's talking about, or a slap on the hand, or something similar. Abusive BEATING is already outlawed, you know.

Sorry folks, but I believe in occasional corporal punishment. There's nothing wrong with a swat on the butt from an open hand every once in a while. And the threat of such a swat goes a long way when a kid KNOWS that the adults in their lives will make good on it.

But let's get back to what she said, specifically that part about corporal punishment contributing to a "violence-addicted" society. Umm, Ms. Lieber, I think an EVEN better argument could be made that as the use of corporal punishment has declined, violence has SKYROCKETED.

I would make mention of the fact that Ms. Lieber is childless, but I won't stoop to Barbara Boxer levels, so I'll simply ask her what qualification she has for telling parents how to raise their children, since she has no personal experience and is not a child therapist or pediatrician?

h/t Darleen

Posted by caltechgirl at January 19, 2007 01:31 PM | TrackBack
Comments

Never mind the absurdity of the state thinking they've got any right to tell a parent how to discipline their children, I'm sick of people carping about our "violent" society. Yes, we still have problems with violence and fight wars, but we are, by far, more civilized and less violent than we've ever been in human history.

Posted by: Emily at January 19, 2007 02:44 PM

This stoopid bill is not a reason not to have kids, just one of many, many reasons not to live in the PRK.

Posted by: Xrlq at January 19, 2007 03:12 PM

believe me, it's not the reason, but it works. Especially when you add it to the rest of the nanny state.

Posted by: caltechgirl at January 19, 2007 03:44 PM

Dr. Spock is one big reason the boomer generation is so fucked up.

Posted by: Ken S, Fifth String on the Banjo of Life at January 19, 2007 06:03 PM

She's a clown and a fool but now we are all talking about her. She was on the local talk radio show this morning. I just wish these politicans would actually do some real work.

Posted by: LeeAnn at January 19, 2007 07:39 PM

My eyes practically rolled right outta my head when I saw this on the news yesterday.

Dumbasses...

Posted by: Richmond at January 20, 2007 09:19 AM

Sigh. some days it just doesn't pay for me to log on... ugh... what a horrible thing to happen. I hope some people are able to stop her.

Posted by: vw bug at January 22, 2007 07:48 AM

I saw this on Drudge the other day. How ridiculous! I am firmly on the side of a soft slap to the hand or swat on the diaper-padded butt can avoid a lot of trouble on down the line. The entire thing is stupid anyway: how do you enforce such a bill? Dumb. How do you teach children that things will hurt them if you don't slap their hands when they are threatening to touch something dangerous? I'm not suggesting the beating of 2 year-olds, but a soft slap to the hand of a child reaching for something dangerous is the smart thing to do. We can't raise our children in a bubble. They are going to come into contact with things that pose a danger. If we don't train them to steer clear of those dangers, we aren't doing our jobs as parents.

Personally, I found it hilarious that the bill's author didn't have children, but based it on her cat, and if you should never hit an animal, you should never hit a child.

Maybe she's not aware that sometimes you have to smack a dog on the nose to train him to stay out of something...

Posted by: Phoenix at January 22, 2007 09:31 AM

I can't even tell you how awful my three year old would be if he didn't get spanked now and again.

Posted by: oddybobo at January 22, 2007 10:41 AM