Spanking Bill in Kansas Sparks Controversy

As of now, there are 19 states that allow schools to physically discipline their students. A Kansas state lawmaker, Gail Finney of Wichita, introduced a bill that would give school teachers and caregivers expanded rights to spank children. This bill would extend to the amount of spanks allowed to be given to students up to ten. The legislation specifically would allow for spankings "up to ten forceful applications in succession of a bare, open-hand palm against the clothed buttocks of a child and any such reasonable physical force on the child as may be necessary to hold, restrain or control the child in the course of maintaining authority over the child, acknowledging that redness or bruising may occur on the tender skin of a child as a result."

In her statement, Finney said that "Parental corporal discipline in Kansas, along with 49 other states, has always been permitted." She issues this statement as a response to all those who are extremely opposed to her bill. Finney later introduces the statements that the bill "is intended to (i) provide guidance to state officials in the administrative and judicial branches; (ii) serve as a guideline to parents; and (iii) protect Kansas children from abuse."

There are already many points of evidence which support the failing of the bill. A representative from DiMaggio Children's Hospital described this bill as "state sanctioned child abuse" which in turn is ironic because of what Finney adds as the third part of the bill, to "protect Kansas children from abuse." Why would you allow child abuse as a form of preventing it? There is no resolution to child abuse by introducing this bill into Kansas law. This issue becomes "legally right vs. morally wrong" and studies have shown that spanking simply leads to more aggression in mature ages. Time-outs would be a much more viable and effective means of letting children know that whatever it is that they've done is simply wrong. Just because they did something wrong doesn't mean they deserve spanking as punishment.

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