How do you make that claim, that a single hit won't harm a child? Are you a psychiatrist, psychologist, pediatrician who has studied the vast body of research? And here's the thing: people generally admit to hitting a lot less and a lot lighter than what actually took place. How would you feel if a spouse "swatted"…

Of course they do. But particularly when you take on the care of a human with known violence issues, you have to learn nonviolent ways to cope. Regardless, this is a child. You don't hit kids.

Spanking is never the answer. People made the same arguments about women 100 years ago when hitting wives was legal and socially acceptable: They can't learn any other way, nothing else gets their attention, the Bible tells us we can, it's the only thing that works, it's our duty to keep them in line. Please look into…

I said 34 countries, not states, and read their laws before you make that call. Only Delaware has laws about spanking here on the U.S., which we hope will expand soon. You hit your child. You admitted it. Think about it from your child's point of view: A much larger person hit a small person with the intention of…

They had plenty of them, yes. But that's different than the prevailing far-right stuff today. Many issues were more to the center.

Not saying I liked the guy or anything he did. Just saying the gist of the party was not as far right and basically intellect-hating, logic-impaired, Christianity-mongering, and insane. Several prominent Republicans of that era have said they would not be electable today.

Truer words...

Her tweets were so right-nutso during the last election that I had to unfollow.

Reaganites are in a different class than Romneyites, though. The party was much less batshit back then.

And I didn't judge you. I judged your actions, which based on science (among other aspects) are inadvisable.

She had a lot of options. She could have moved away from the child. She could have called the police for help. A nearby bus or school could have had someone help before the situation got to this point. If you think it's acceptable to hit a child on the grounds that a child is hitting you, we will never agree.

So following your logic, every child with autism who hits a teacher/caregiver/parent could be hit back. What a scary world that would be. If you could consider a child with special needs (who frequently lack the ability to understand or control their bodies) an assailant, my god, please stay away from them.

"Light swat on the butt" exactly fits the definition of spanking. It's violence against a child, even if that domestic violence is traditional in our society. And that would be illegal in 34 countries. Sweden has had a ban since 1979.

Yes, that fits exactly into the definition of spanking. That would be illegal in 34 countries. You have used violence on your children, even if your goal was discipline (thought spanking is classified as punishment), and even if that is traditional in our society. Experts recommend against any hitting of children,…

And I'm sorry that happened to you. Truly. No kid should ever have to go through that.

Yes, thank goodness it is illegal in Ohio and she can be charged. But if she were a parent hitting her child this way, she might not have been. (Delaware is the only state that has banned it.) And in a whole bunch of states, she might have immunity just like teachers and principals do there. See the documentary:

Oh I'm not perfect, and I don't act like I am. I make mistakes every day, but not of this type, because I know the damage it does. If I hit a child, I'd welcome you to judge my actions. I'd be judging them too and seeking help. As another commenter is saying, this woman needed more tools and help learning how to work…

What is exaggerated and what is neither here nor there? Hitting is assault, period. Hitting is also scientifically shown to have negative neurobiological and behavioral impacts on children that can last for life. We cannot keep excusing the people who do it just because it happened to us.

It's still NEVER ACCEPTABLE to hit a child. Ever. No matter how bad or dangerous or anything the situation becomes. See the vast body of research that says hitting kids is bad. Hitting an adult is a crime. Hitting a child should be a crime too. Especially because that child is much smaller and had little say in the…

Here's the thing though: Violence against kids is actually sanctioned in many schools and in many states. Corporal punishment is viewed as an acceptable form of discipline, despite so much evidence that it harms children and inhibits learning and does not improve behavior anyway. This documentary shows how horrific it…