Portland, Tennessee Blog

my dad used to find a good leather belt to set us straight but there was 4 of us and we were always taught spare the rod spoil the child and that was the golden rule of our house but even to this day we are all grown now we know that if my dad thought we were unruly those famous words would come out fo i need to tighten up on your tail that's just the way it should be there is no resect from kids anymore and it begins at home but i guarantee this my son receives the same discipline i grew up with and he is a straight a student and very respectful to all adults..

my dad used to find a good leather belt to set us straight but there was 4 of us and we were always taught spare the rod spoil the child and that was the golden rule of our house but even to this day we are all grown now we know that if my dad thought we were unruly those famous words would come out fo i need to tighten up on your tail that's just the way it should be there is no resect from kids anymore and it begins at home but i guarantee this my son receives the same discipline i grew up with and he is a straight a student and very respectful to all adults..

I believe it is a parent's decision to decide how to discipline their children. In my mind, spanking is not the same as child abuse. A spanking is not a beating. I definitely believe other disciplining tactics should be used and are more effective in general, however, I also don't believe this is an area the government should legislate. Spanking just does not equal child abuse...why don't we continue to make tougher laws and punishments for actual child abusers and predators, not the parent who occasionally swats their child on the behind for misbehavior? There is actually a really great debate about spanking at www.opposingviews.com/questions/is-spanking-an-acceptable-form-of-discipline. Experts from both sides weigh in and discuss the issue...a really interesting read!

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I think it is not right to spank !!

All of this debate because a man named Murray Straus lied about a study. HE should be spanked.

Marissa - at 15, do you think you need a spanking or be grounded for using profanity?

hell yeah i'd spank my kid... if i had one.. i'm 15 and i think there should be spanking.. kids these days have no disipline whatsoever.. it's rediculous... kids are spoiled and get everything they want.. they use drugs, yeah spanking should happen.

Spanking just simply does not work. Instead of putting so much energy into spanking and yelling at your child, sit down, take a breather, and show them better ways to express themselves. Children act out in bad ways because parents these days are too busy to spend one on one quality time with their kids. Instead of spanking your kids and focusing on the "bad" that they are doing, focus more on the "bad" that you as a parent are doing. Fix yourself first, kids are a direct product of their environment. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!!!

Linda, I am not a Baptist, but I have to say that I agree with you on the God in School issue. When my son was in first grade, they were not allowed to do a Nativity Scene in the schoolwide Christmas program, but in his classroom, they "studied" Judaism and Hannuka, and he came home with Jewish symbols and toys. I am very glad that he was given exposure to learning about another religion, especially one that ties so closely with ours, but it angered me that he learned about Judaism when he COULDN'T learn about Christianity at school or celebrate Christian holidays.

I don't think that schools should be allowed to teach a specific denomination (unless it's a private school) but there are basic morals and ethics that used to be part of the fabric of our communities, and we have taken that away. By golly, I knew that if I acted up, any Mom in the neighborhood could tell me to stop, and my mom would know about it before I got home. Now there are few, if any rules for kids, except one; HANDS OFF!

I have a child who is well behaved, well adjusted, and well mannered. Guess what? She knows she will get a belt across her rear when she gets out of line and she knows that we have no problem going to her school if needed to pull her out of class for a spanking.Even with corpral punishment she still loves her Mom and Dad and has not needed any therapy thus far. How 'bout that?

Spanking, Not enough of it if you ask me. Spanking does no good.? Remember when we were in school, how many unruly kids were there? Very few , because if they misbehaved they were paddled by the the principle or teacher. Can't do that now so what makes our kids the kind they are now. Disrespectful, mean cruel, bullies drug users. smokers. you name it. I would bet over half are like this. I know we had kids who got into trouble in our time but it was far less that it is now. They had to be taught to respect from school and from home. Now they are not from home
or school. We got to get back to our basic beliefs and to God most of all. We left him out of school and now he is left out of our homes. Most kids don't know what your talking about. I am a Baptist and I am very proud of it.Religion is nothing if you don't have heart felt salvation. But God back into our school and our homes and I will promise you this place will be a whole lot better. Don't tell me that this afends you because wheather you beleive it or not that is what this country was founded on.The signers of declaration of independence stood on this.
Muslums students in Nashville have a right to take time out during the day at a certain time to to aprivate room and pray to their god. Our kids can't even have a place to pray. What does that tell you. When are we as christians going to stand up for our rights. You people say you don't like church or you want to do what you want to do in church. That not how it works. What if God said I will not die for these evil,hypocritical unbeleivers. We'd all in up in hell. There is a place called hell unless you don't beleive in the bible. My prayer that God's people will wake up and take a stand and stop playing church, and if you are lost I pray that you get saved before it's to late. That why we need preachers to tell us how to get saved. Then it the churches and ours as an individual to study the holy word of God and let him help us to interpet the word by the holy spirit. May God bless you And May God Bless the town of Portland.

Is this seriously the same state that the govoner has movies so violent that kids under 18 cant watch them. Is this the state that allows for same gender marriage? Is this still not america? The last time I checked we have really great laws that already protect our children. Sounds as though the goverment is saying to us the American people that we are to stupid to make these decisions for ourself. Watch yourselves, the next thing you know uncle sam will be dad and mom for you.

The fact that it is unanimous aginst a stupid law like this makes me proud to live in a place full of normal people. Sometimes it seems we normal people ar ein the minority.

God help us if we can't spank our children.

I have raised four children, and I spanked every one of them when they needed it. I believe that's why God put such a nice, padded spot where they sit down... not to hurt or abuse them, just to get their attention.

This is dumbest law ever! That's what's wrong with this country now. We have everyone now wanting to sue everyone for looking at them wrong now this...waste of my tax dollars!!

I believe different children require different types of discipline, but I am a believer in spanking if needed. I believe children should have "fear" of their parents. Do not take this statement out of context. When I say "fear" I believe that children should be taught that if they disobey their parents, that there are consequences. This type of fear in my opinion also has a respect. If you have a certain type of fear, then you also have a certain type of respect for the person as well. I did spank my two older children when they were small. I very rarely have to spank them now. They are well behaved and discipled and yes, they have the "fear". Other forms of discipline work now and I reserve spankings for when they are called for. I also have a younger one that hasn't received nearly the spankings as the others received, but she is only now getting to where she may need a "love" pat on the rear. The term "this is going to hurt me more than it does you" is true because it does break my heart to do it, but sometimes you do what you have to do. I will not be one of those parents on the talk shows where my children have beat me in their teenage years! One should not spank in anger because yes, they can get out of control and I definitely do not believe in beating children under any circumstances. When spanking was not an issue many years ago, you didn't see the same issues as you do now with children.

No. This is a ridiculous law. Parents don't have kids so the government can tell them how to raise them. We're responsible for raising our kids how we see fit.

I have 2 children and I love them dearly, but when they get out of line they do get spanked, not a beating. I agree that there is a fine line between the two that this country needs to adress.

The government shouldn't be allowed to tell us that we cannot discipline our kids. If they do this, then they're gonna have to build more prisons to house these kids when they start committing crimes. And how will they pay for those prisons, by raising taxes. We know how well that will go over.

It's just crazy to think that our lives could be dictated by the government in that way. Hopefully it will never be that way here.

My child is still too young for spankings. I haven't decided yet whether I will or not. I will certainly try other non-spanking methods first. If those work, then there will be no reason for spankings.
My parents only spanked us when we did something dangerous, not b/c we were doing kid stuff. One time I crossed a very busy road (similar to gallatin road or Broadway in portland) on my bike, I think I was 6. My mother spanked me for it and I never did it again.

I certainly think that the government/law enforcement should stay out of our homes and child rearing. Of course, child abuse is a totally different blog subject.

a leather belt across the backside of a pair of jeans doesnt bring blood but it does seem to get your attention.GOD gave my dad the athority to discipline me and i'm a better man for it.
i am sorry if you or anyone else was abused.
i seen kids get beat with switches and endure bloody legs and i dont like it.

My mother always used a switch to discipline me and my sister and most of the time brought blood. I swore I would NEVER use a switch on one of my children and I never did. To me this is child abuse.

I believe spanking is okay if not used out of anger. It is so easy to get angry and lash out and hurt the ones you love.

Children are a gift from GOD. Love and cherish them. You never know what tomorrow holds.

lets face it, california is one nuttjob state.
i've never been there but it looks like a virtual paradise in some places.i know there are good people living there, but the lunatic fringe in the state have turned it into the try anything liberal state.my dad whipped me with a leather strap when i got out of line, and i'm glad he did.thanks dad!

I don't see anything wrong with 'spanking'. I agree that 'beating' a child should not be allowed, but that is different. As was already stated, that IS the problem with a lot of children and teens today. Parents are afraid to spank their children, for the fear of being 'turned in' for child abuse. I don't think the government should be telling us how to raise our children. My sisters and I were spanked as children, and we turned out fine. There is not enough discipline in the home today, so the children go to school with way too much disrespect for adults. Discipline needs to be handled by parents first, then maybe children won't act out in school. The government needs to stay out of it!

I was spanked and spanked in school on several different occasions and I am fine no hidden hate toward my mother or father. I knew I deserved it when I got it and also knew that when I did something wrong well mom would be there with her belt, switch, etc...Spank but never angry.

This is what's wrong with the children today. Not enough spankings and not enough discipline. The teachers are not allowed to touch them and they know it so they stand up and cuss and threaten the teachers and nothing is done except maybe get suspended.

When I was growning up it was nothing for my mother to whip me with a switch or a belt and I didn't turn out to be a criminal. I knew if I did something wrong I had it coming. But kids now a days do not fear or dread the consequences of their actions.

To make myself clear here, I am talking about spankings NOT beatings. These are 2 totally different things. Anyone that beats a child and causes bodily harm should be hung from the rafters and left to die.

I have a fiesty two year old boy with a very short temper and an ever shorter attention span..although there are times when talking to him or a timeout works, there are other times that I must spat his hand for hitting,or spat his leg for kicking,and I don't think anyone should tell me that it is against the law to disipline my child...I would never in a million years hurt him or "hit" him in a violent manner and only I should be responsible for deciding what type of disipline I use.

Spanking a child no.

Beating a child yes.

Glad my kids are older than 3.