To swat or not? Authorities discuss corporal punishment

As a boy, Kenneth Kinder learned to keep track of time the hard way -- with several swats to the backside.

"When I was a child, if I was late for dinner, my mother grabbed the last thing she saw in the yard, and that's what she whooped me with all the way home," Kinder said. " ... I was hit on the bottom a little bit, and I guess it was a little red, but I wasn't black and blue."

The tardy tot grew up to be the chief deputy of the Scott County Sheriff's Department.

Kinder said he doesn't have any problem with corporal punishment in and of itself.

"My personal view is it's not wrong to spank a child as long as it's done right," he said. "Just because you spank a child, it doesn't mean they're going to turn out to be an ax murderer."

As a law-enforcement officer, however, Kinder comes face-to-face with parents who have trouble finding the line between discipline and abuse.

The issue drew national attention recently, when Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson was charged with child abuse.

Peterson, who is accused of beating his 4-year-old son with a wooden switch, has said he did not mean to harm the boy and was using the same method of discipline that had been used on him as a child.

Missouri law permits "discipline of a child ... including spanking, in a reasonable manner."

What constitutes a "reasonable" spanking is open to interpretation.

"It's a situational, case-by-case basis," said Cpl. Darin Hickey of the Cape Girardeau Police Department.

While spanking a child is not in and of itself abuse, punishment that poses a risk of substantial injury is, Hickey said.

"If you're not leaving marks, you're not leaving welts, are you abusing the child? And that's the great debate, I guess," Kinder said.

Perceptions about corporal punishment have changed over the years, Kinder said, and what was acceptable 40 or 50 years ago may seem unduly harsh today.

"I think sometimes as parents, we're afraid to discipline our children, because we're afraid the police are going to come knock on the door and take us off to jail," he said.

Julie Hunter, assistant prosecuting attorney for Cape Girardeau County, is not a fan of corporal punishment, but she acknowledged differences in parenting styles mean some families may find it appropriate.

"You know, a swat on the wrist to prevent your child from harming themselves -- obviously, that's acceptable," she said.

Hunter draws the line at injuries.

"Generally, a parent should not ever strike a child and leave any sort of injury or a bruise," she said.

Using an inanimate object to strike a child may be "excessive," and certain areas of the body -- including the back, legs and stomach -- should be off-limits, Hunter said.

"A swat to the butt -- that's not going to leave any injury," she said. "Is that OK? I wouldn't do it, but I know some parents do, and I'm generally not going to prosecute for that."

epriddy@semissourian.com

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