Professor Bainbridge...on law, politics, religion, culture & food

Should Parental Spanking be Criminalized?

Spanking has been criminalized here in New Zealand, where they’ve just had their first conviction under the new law:

A New Zealand man has been sentenced to nine months supervision for spanking his 8-year-old son. The father, a Masterton resident, pleaded guilty to assault under a new law that allows parents to be convicted of using even “reasonable” physical punishment, The Dominion Post reported. ... The father hit the boy three times on the rear end in late October after he was told the 8-year-old had been acting up in school. He hit him hard enough to cause a bruise and the mother took a picture that eventually made its way to police.

Hitting a kid hard enough to leave a bruise arguably exceeds even a reasonable level of force. But should less severe corporal punishment be allowed? Some Kiwi politicians seem to think so:

Family Party leader Richard Lewis said the father was addressing his son’s bad behaviour.

“He’s done what many thousands of responsible Kiwi dads have done in the past and probably continue to do. We are all against abuse. But there is a world of difference between abuse and an open palm smack on the bottom.” Mr Lewis said the conviction was an overreaction and the outcome of “very bad anti-family law”.

Future New Zealand [party] leader Gordon Copeland said the prosecution would create more confusion for ordinary families. It was a bad law from a “liberal nanny state” ...

Family First New Zealand national director Bob McCoskrie said he had learned of cases in which children about to be disciplined told parents, “You can’t touch me or I’ll tell the police.”

Spare the rod and spoil the child?