I see that the no-spanking group is pushing its agenda once again. This time it is a study in which the author calls for spanking to be made illegal, and your editorial that states that those of us who spank when we are not angry are sadistic.
As a parent of three grown children, I incorporated spanking into child-raising as a last resort - a clear indication that the conduct in question was completely unacceptable and must cease immediately. While my children were little, I became a “born again” Christian and began regularly attending church. There I encountered, not simplistic hand-me-downs, but careful teaching on systematic parenting. The basic formula was that children needed to know (1) that they were loved unconditionally (“you are precious, even when you act badly”); (2) what the rules of proper living were (“this is how to act”); and (3) that someone was in charge and it was not them (“I expect you to follow the rules”).
Perhaps you can enlighten me about how the diligent attempt to use spanking within this system constitutes sadism, and is conduct that should be made illegal.
Our health system encounters illness and dysfunction, so it is easy to see why Marie Hay and others are so set on banning spanking. They see the instances when things are going wrong, not when things are working. The difference between a spanking and a beating is clear - the intent of the parent and the extent of the force.
That does not excuse the fact that these social engineers seek to impose their will on parents who do not share their views, nor your ill-considered assertion that we parents that use it are mentally sick. While crying out for tolerance, they will bludgeon everyone who disagrees with them into compliance. That is a major reason why some of us work so hard to ensure that government never gets so controlling of its citizens as to allow these misguided people to implement their will. And you can expect me to counsel my sons on the appropriate use of an occasional swat on the backside in the raising of my grandchildren - with the same excellent outcomes.
Charles Scott
Prince George
