Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Smackin' my kid around...

Okay. Okay. Not yet.

I don't even have a kid.

But I think about what kind of parent I'll be when I do have one and I hope I'll be good at it.

There's an article on Slate that has me thinking this morning about just that. I often hear people give arguments for and against whopping on a kid. "My kid knows I'll hit him if he misbehaves." "Kids who don't get hit think they can get away with anything."

... not very convincing.

One point this article makes is: Opponents of corporal punishment also advance moral and legal arguments. If you hit another adult you can be arrested and sued, after all, so shouldn't our smallest, weakest citizens have a right to equal or even more-than-equal protection under the law? In this country, if you do the same thing to your dog that you do to your child, you're more likely to get in trouble for mistreating the dog.

Anyway, it's an interesting read and worth your time.

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