Risky Corporal Punishment, Exercises of Law

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Risky Corporal Punishment Zak Robinson School of Undergraduate Studies, Excelsior College English 101: English Composition Dr. Liz Benito March 11, 2020

Risky Corporal Punishment Opinions on the relationship between physical discipline and child abuse can vary widely. According to Coleman et al. (2010), the current language used in state laws on corporal punishment leaves many interpretation loopholes: “[A]ll states’ laws permit the use of ‘reasonable’ corporal punishment; simultaneously, they all prohibit nonaccidentally inflicted serious injury. The latter is generally denominated abuse” (p. 107). Most states then place “neglect,” or “milder but still impermissible injuries,” in the middle of this continuum between punishment and abuse (p. 107). The trouble, according to the authors, is the ambiguous and subjective nature of these terms, which do little to help caretakers understand what appropriate discipline is and what it is not (p. 108). In this way, the ambiguity surrounding child mistreatment can contribute to increased incidences of child abuse. Several infamous examples demonstrate that the concerns of these authors are valid and caregivers frequently cross the line between non-injurious physical chastisement and extreme cruelty. In a New York Times article, Raftery (2011) summarized the circumstances surrounding the homicide of a thirteen-year-old girl from Ethiopia adopted at age eleven. Her adoptive parents “had deprived her of food for days at a time and had made her sleep in a cold barn or a closet and shower outside with a hose. [T]hey often whipped her, leaving marks on her legs” (p. 1). The parents, Carrie and Larry Williams, undertook these measures to correct what they viewed as Hana’s unwillingness to submit to their parental authority. The Williams were reportedly following, in a partial sense, the parenting advice of the corporal-punishment advocates Michael and Debi Pearl, who wrote a book on discipline called To Train up a Child. The book advises spanking with belts and plastic tubing, although not to the extremes used on Hana. Commented [A1]: The author begins his essay by using a quote from a source that helps to explain some of the confusion related to his topic. Commented [A2]: The thesis statement makes it clear that the author will use examples to help illustrate his point about what constitutes child abuse. Commented [A3]: Here, the author uses an example from a source to help illustrate his point about when the line is crossed from punishment to abuse.

risk of child abuse in that “12% of mothers who reported spanking with an object [25% of the study’s 1,435 respondents] also reported abusive punishment” (as cited in “Study Shows,” 2008, para. 8). An additional 6% who said they spanked with just the hand [45% of the study’s respondents] also admitted to using punishments that cross the line. These statistics further exemplify the dangerous link between abuse and corporal punishment. Corporal punishment is a controversial issue with many factions. A punishment that initially seems appropriate to a caretaker can quickly spiral into an act that causes serious harm to a child. According to Coleman et al. (2010), the child-abuse laws currently on the books do little to clarify the difference between corporal punishment, neglect, and abuse. In the cases of Hana Williams and Alexa Linboom, the parents’ actions are clearly in the realm of abuse. However, the point at which these caretakers crossed the legal line remains ambiguous, and little is being done to prevent other guardians from making similarly dangerous judgment calls.

References Coleman, D., Dodge, K. A., & Campbell, S. (2010). Where and how to draw the line between reasonable corporal punishment and abuse. Law & Contemporary Problems , 73 (2), 107 –

166. https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/lcp/vol73/iss2/6/ Hamblin, J. (2014, February 11). The girl who died from drinking too much soda. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/02/the-girl-who-died-fromdrinking-too- much-soda/283715/ Pearl, M., & Pearl D. (2015, May 1). To train up a child: Child training for the 21st century. No Greater Joy Ministries. Raftery, I. (2011, November 6). Preaching virtue of spanking, even as deaths fuel debate. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/07/us/deaths-put-focus-on-pastors- advocacy-of-spanking.html Study shows link between spanking and physical abuse. (2008). Child Law Practice , 27 (7), 111–

http://www.americanbar.org/groups/child_law/publications/child_law_practiceonline.htm l