Massachusetts looks at banning spanking

The Massachusetts legislature is going to be debating a bill that would outlaw spanking children. Speaking as a pro-corporal punishment individual, I hope that they do outlaw it. I hope they outlaw it because I believe that responsible corporal punishment works, and I'm happy a state other than Wisconsin will be the test lab to prove me right.

I've heard all the arguments now of the anti-corporal punishment people. I've heard them for quite a while (Mrs. Jib falls into that group). And through it all, I just have this to say-disciplining children is not a one size fits all endeavor. Some children just do not need to be spanked. Mrs. Jib falls into that category. Others do. I would fall into that category.

Looking back on my childhood, had my father "spared the rod" I would probably would have run rough shod over them. For me, a spanking had two main effects. First, it focused my brain on the fact that what I was doing was wrong, and second, it trained my brain to understand that their are clear lines of right and wrong. Had I received time outs, I'm pretty sure I would have continued the behavior I was punished for. I also would not have learned as pointed a lesson on the consequences of one's actions as I did.

So, having said all of that, I look forward to the Massachusetts experiment. Its failure may not be easily quantifiable, but I suspect that we would see a slow rise in juvenile deliquency and more serious crimes. And as long as this inane idea stays in Massachusetts, I have zero problem with it.

Post Script
My father spanked using his hand. I think that is fairly common these days amongst spankers. I'm not sure that the hand is necessarily better than an inanimate object like a switch, belt, ruler, or paddle, though. I look back on people I know who received their spankings with an inanimate object, and it seems that the punishment was depersonalized. Think of it this way. When you are disciplining a pet at a young age, if you swat them with a newspaper, they come to fear a rolled up newspaper, but they trust your hand still. When you swat them with a bare hand, it takes much more effort to get them to understand that the hand will only sting them when they behave badly. Yes, the usage of an object in spanking can do more harm if the punishment crosses into abuse. But for a calm spanking, I think an object like a belt may actually be the better option. Having said that, though, I probably will never employ an object because it is so scorned by society today.