Parenting styles and views on discipline vary widely. Some parents use time-outs and groundings. Others take away privileges or monetary allowances. Style others use the spanking discipline. For parents in the latter group, society's new mores often force them to go underground with their discipline. Many pro-spanking parents remark that they are not comfortable spanking their child in public. However, this is not always the case.
On a recent trip to Walmart, I turned into an aisle to spy a woman with her son bent over her knee on the ground, spanking him on the rear. A crowd of ten or twelve other patrons were gathered around her. With a defiant air, this woman looked up and stated, "Before God and man, I am not ashamed to spank his butt. Spare the rod and spoil the child."
Spanking Discipline in Public: Is it Legal?
The legalities of spanking discipline are often debated. What constitutes spanking, and when does it turn to beating? Is it abuse only if it leaves a mark, or only if it is prolonged and severe? Who makes these decisions?
Spanking laws vary by state, though most state something to the affect that a parent or guardian may use reasonable physical force or discipline to correct or benefit the child. Therefore, engaging in spanking discipline of a child in public can be construed as being legal.
Spanking Discipline in Public: Is it Ethical?
The ethics of spanking discipline are as varied and contentious as the legality. While some quote the biblical epitaph of "spare the rod and spoil the child" as a godly decree to spank, others consider the rod spoken of to refer to a shepherds crook which is used to gently guide sheep rather than smack them.
Different cultures look at spanking in different ways as well. What it comes down to is personal preference and personal responsibility.
Spanking Discipline in Public: The Shame Factor
Most children above toddler age who are spanked in public will feel a sense of shame. It is embarrassing to be physically reprimanded in front of a gawking crowd of strangers. One could argue that the shame helps correct the child's misbehavior while others believe shame should never be inflicted upon a child.
The mother in Walmart, spanking her child, commented that she was not ashamed to use spanking discipline on her child. It is possible that some pro-spanking parents are ashamed of their discipline practices in this increasingly anti-spanking society. They might also be ashamed that their child requires such extreme discipline.
Spanking discipline in public arouses many different feelings and thoughts. With ambiguous legality and ethical considerations, the only thing left to do is stand around and gawk.
