She therefore wouldn't know that there's a little problem with hurting an under-three year-old by spanking - that little bottom is usually covered with a diaper or pull-up. The real effect from spanking comes from the humiliation of having their pants pulled down, turned over a knee and spanked, not any pain. But then, not having actually raised kids, she wouldn't understand that either.
We rely on time-out, sitting quietly in a chair alone in a room for one minute per year of age (two minutes is forever to a two year-old), taking away privileges, like TV or allowance, and rewards for good behavior. The only problem is, each child as a toddler tests the system by getting up out of the time out chair and looking at you like "OK, just what are you gonna do about it, Dad?" If you don't spank, you have a huge discipline problem from that day on. If you do spank, the lesson is learned in 1-3 spankings.
Now that our kids are getting older, we can go months or longer between any spankings in our house.
. . .Whereas Lieber acknowledges that she has never had children of her own but defends her credentials to carry such legislation on the grounds that lawmakers often carry bills on topics about which they know little or nothing; and
Whereas Lieber's proposal has already filled the Legislature's 2007 quota for at least one bill per session that sounds, looks and feels superfluous and goofy and draws "only-in-squirrelly-California" attention from chirpy morning TV talk shows and denunciations from knuckle- dragging radio talk show hosts; and...