At what point are we abusing what is deemed abuse?
So what exactly is the statute of limitations on child abuse?
I need to set up a court appointment for my parents. And my elementary school principal. And my high school gym teacher.
When I stole money from my mother, she hit the palm of my hand with a wooden spoon so hard that the spoon broke. Another time, when I sassed back at her, my dad swatted my backside so hard it left a hand-shaped bruise. And in elementary school, it was the constant fear of the principal’s strap that kept me and all of my friends duly in line.
See, when I was a boy, there was no such thing as child abuse. There were very different words back then, like "discipline." Or "mind your manners." Or "just do as you’re told."
Even though he’s only 29 years old, I suspect Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson subscribes to that old school philosophy of discipline. Why else would he resort to punishing his four-year-old child with a switch?
On Tuesday, the NFL suspended Peterson without pay for the rest of the Vikings’ season after he had pleaded no contest to misdemeanor reckless assault charges in swatting his son with the switch.
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Now, I’m not saying that his actions are acceptable. Of course there are myriad alternatives to raising a hand to a child. And I’m not saying that any child abuse should be taken lightly. There are horrible examples of inexcusable abuse every day in the headlines.
What I am saying is that the pendulum appears to have swung too far, and what once were common means of discipline and good parenting are all being labeled as criminal abuse, and the perpetrators are nothing more than evil monsters. And that’s just not right.
Sometimes a kid won’t learn from a timeout. And sometimes a stern talking-to won’t cut it. Have you ever tried to logically explain why certain behaviour is wrong to a six-year-old kid? It won’t work. Logic has no place in a six-year-old’s brain.
That’s where a good, old-fashioned spanking comes in, or at least the promise of it if the unruly behaviour doesn’t change, pronto. And no, I’m not talking about a blister-inducing, bare-butt beating. I’m talking about a firm swat to the backside to snap the kid back into reality.
All of my friends got a “licking” at one point or another in their childhoods. Some faced the principal’s strap. One had his arm squeezed by the gym teacher so hard that he still has a mark.
And amazingly, we’re all still alive, and we mysteriously haven’t turned into serial abusers. We don’t take to violence as a first resort.
But to this day, we do understand what discipline is, and we do know that there are consequences for misbehaving. We know that the world doesn’t revolve around our smallest whims and that ‘no’ is an acceptable answer.
I can only hope the current generation will grow up with the same values.
The Surly Old Man is a real old man who is particularly surly. He will contribute only when angry.
