Free Republic

ONDON, July 5 — The House of Lords, the upper house of Parliament, resolved today to limit, but not forbid, the right of parents to hit their children, changing a 144-year-old law that gave parents the right to strike children as "reasonable chastisement" for misbehavior.The vote represented a victory for Prime Minister Tony Blair, who opposes an outright ban on hitting and supported an alternative proposal for physical punishment that caused neither physical nor mental harm.For those who oppose punishing children by hitting them, the debate surrounding the vote was part of a campaign to secure for children the same...

When Chad Taylor noticed his son was apparently experiencing serious side effects from Ritalin prescribed for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, he decided to take the boy off the medication. Now, he says he may be accused of child abuse. In February, 12-year-old Daniel began displaying some symptoms that his father suspected were related to the use of Ritalin. "He was losing weight, wasn't sleeping, wasn't eating," Taylor told ABC News affiliate KOAT-TV in New Mexico. "[He] just wasn't Daniel." So Taylor took Daniel off Ritalin, against his doctor's wishes. And though Taylor noticed Daniel was sleeping better and his appetite...

DENVER (AP) - High school without seniors? Colorado lawmakers have asked education officials to study the possibility of eliminating the 12th grade and establishing a year of preschool instead. They said it would better prepare students for college by giving them an early start and possibly save money. ``I'd really like to see if we might change the model,'' Republican state Sen. Ron Teck said Monday. ``We've been operating under the same education model for the last 100 years.'' Colorado is the first state to discuss the elimination of the senior year to replace it with preschool, said Jennifer Dounay,...

<p>LONDON, Nov. 15 (UPI) -- Britain's government is moving toward outlawing the spanking of children, even if it is done by parents in their own home.</p> <p>Officials plan to tack an amendment onto the Child Protection Bill to outlaw parental spanking because too many parents cover up abuse by claiming their children's bruises are the result of normal discipline, the Sunday Observer reported.</p>