One Florida father intent on not breaking the law while disciplining his daughter, called police to supervise the spanking. As bizarre as this type of parenting sounds, cops in Okeechobee County say that calls for service to monitor parents paddling their children are not all that uncommon, citing a KCCI news report.
Sources say police were called to the unnamed man’s home after he requested a deputy be present while he spanks his child . Apparently, the 12-year-old girl got into a “heated” argument with her sister, and the father found it necessary to punish one of the girls.
An officer arrived a short time later to honor the man’s request that they supervise the spanking. While there, the deputy observed that no crime was committed. A report was written up and no other action was necessary. A spokesperson chatted with local reporters. Evidently, the department routinely responds to parental requests, but as long as no other pressing matter is outstanding.
In fact, Undersheriff Noel Stephen says he personally has witnessed parents disciplining their children upon request in about a dozen or so cases. He weighed in.
“It happens. It’s definitely not something we advertise to do, and even though law enforcement has been willing to help out in this situation, watching a parent discipline their child is something that’s done only when a deputy has no other calls to handle.”
A police officer supervising a spanking is one way to make sure the right message is being sent to a child during corporal punishment. However, a surefire way to prevent a child from suffering from long-term effects of punishment is to make sure it’s being done with love . In April of 2013, Inquisitr reported the results of a study that looked at the impact of parents spanking their children.
“The team, from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York , studied a group of Mexican American teens. They discovered that, as long as the teens had a loving mother when they were younger, they would be protected against antisocial behavior later on. Dr. Miguelina German, the study’s author, also noted that strict discipline is common in Latino culture.”
It’s unknown if other departments of police supervise spankings. However, as the line narrows on what constitutes punishment, and abuse grows thinner, should other agencies consider adding the service?
The study is published in the peer-reviewed journal, Parenting: Science and Practice .
[Image via: FoxCT ]
