Re: Southerners -- who are red state Republikkons and who are the only support the Republikkkons have -- beat their children regularly, at home, in public -- beat the *** out of them

On Jul 19, 8:10 pm, "Kickin' Ass and Takin' Names"
<old_redn...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
http://www.tennessean.com/article/20090719/FEATURES01/907190318/South...

Southern parents spank their kids

Some say time-out is better punishment

By Claudia Pinto
THE TENNESSEAN

You're probably not from around here if you haven't witnessed an
exasperated mother swatting her screaming child's behind in the middle
of Kroger.

Maybe the sight made you cringe and momentarily imagine intervening.
Or perhaps you felt a sister-like solidarity and silently applauded
the mother for taking control. If you're a native or long-time
Tennessean, chances are you were probably thinking the latter.

According to one poll, 62 percent of Southern parents spank their
kids,compared to 41 percent of non-Southern parents. While taboo in
most of America and illegal in some European countries, spanking still
seems to be no big deal in the South.

Brian P. Hinote, an assistant professor of sociology at Middle
Tennessee State University, says spanking has been a traditional form
of discipline in the South. Tennessee is in the heart of the Bible
Belt, after all, and many people believe that the Good Book advocates
physical discipline.

"Spanking is viewed as a way of delivering children from hell," Hinote
said. "The passage that's cited most is from King Solomon in the book
of Proverbs that basically says, 'Spare the rod and spoil the child.'
"

Not only are Southern kids spanked more at home, they're spanked more
at school, too.

Tennessee ranks sixth out of the 21 states that still allow corporal
punishment in schools, with 14,868 students paddled during the
2006-2007 school year. That's about 1.5 percent of the student
population.

Still, Alice Farmer, a fellow with the ACLU and Human Rights Watch,
says that's 14,868 too many.

"Corporal punishment is abusive, but it's also not effective," Farmer
said, adding that children who are paddled are more likely to drop out
of school.

Rachel Woods, the Tennessee Department of Education's director of
communications, said it's up to each school district to decide whether
to use corporal punishment. Metro Nashville has abolished it. However,
it's still allowed in Cheatham County schools, Robertson County
schools, Rutherford County schools, Sumner County schools, Wilson
County schools and Lebanon Special School District, among others.

Randall Hutto, the Lebanon district's assistant director, stressed
that parents are called before their children are spanked. And, he
said, they are given a few options on how their child could be
disciplined, including paddling.

Does paddling make the children behave? "The fear of corporal
punishment is probably more effective than corporal punishment
itself," Hutto said.

'A loving spank'

Before moving to Antioch five years ago from Maine, Tracy Adams said
she had never seen children spanked in public.

Adams, who doesn't spank her 6- or 4 1/2-year-olds, said she finds
time-out to be an effective form of discipline.

"We weren't raised in families that spanked," she said. "It didn't
feel natural to me."

On the other hand, Laurie Mingus of Thompson's Station makes no
apologies for spanking her kids, as a last resort, when they were
growing up. She said when she sees kids out in public acting out and
mouthing off, she thinks: "They'd probably be better off with a loving
spank."

Emily Kinzig of Franklin said among her peers, spanking is something
that's just not done, or at least not admitted to with any sense of
pride. She personally feels that spanking would send the wrong message
to her 3 1/2-year-old daughter and 1 1/2-year-old son, who has started
hitting others.

" 'We don't hit, but I'm going to smack you,' " Kinzig said. "That
just doesn't make sense."

Instead, Kinzig said she communicates to her children that if they
misbehave there will be consequences.

"I'll say, 'Look, I know you are feeling tired and frustrated right
now, but if you continue to act this way we are going to have to
leave,' " Kinzig said.

That tactic doesn't cut it for every parent. Larry Tomczak of Franklin
says there's no reasoning with a child. Tomczak says sometimes parents
are unwilling to spank their child because they don't want to hurt
them, but he thinks those parents should put aside their own feelings
for the well-being of the child.

"I don't want to hurt cute little Jimmy. Well, cute little Jimmy could
burn your house down unless you teach him not to use matches," said
Tomczak, author of The Little Handbook on Loving Correction, which he
says offers child-rearing advice from a biblical perspective.

Got that?? And the bible tells them to beat their kids.

.

Loading