More on Spanking- what's the difference.... (school, abuse, state, children)

[Mrs.Bewitched]

I understand that some parents agree with spanking. I understand many people agree with corporal punishment.

Here's what I don't understand: why parents aren't held to the same standards as schools? Why if a parent paddles their OWN child to the extent that there are bruises, that parent would be locked up and their children (even the ones without the bruises) would be taken away from them...but if a school does the SAME EXACT thing...it's oK, and nothing is done??

Why is this? Why is there a difference?

[Chinolala]

I think that they can be. Pediatricians, babysitters, relatives, etc can report bruising to authorities. Parents won't lose their children over spanking, but a court will make them take parenting classes. Kids are told in some schools that hitting is abuse and the kids themselves remind their parents of this.

[djacques]

Parents who spank their kids without bruising are not, as a rule, subject to "parenting classes". Kids may be told in some schools that some hitting is abuse, but that is not the state of the law. The teachers telling them that are either ignorant of the law or feel justified in lying about it.