Home Hot Topics Articles Directors' Choice Awards About Us / Contact Us Activities & Curriculum Activities for Outcome-Based Learning Arts & Crafts Music for Learning Recommended Reading Sharing Boards: What Do YOU Think? NEWSlink Current National News Conference Calendar Topics In Early Childhood Education Art and Creativity in Early Childhood Education Job Sharing Board State Licensing Requirements Stay Connected! Each month we'll send you an email filled with articles and ideas for your classroom. Subscribe Now Date: 1/30/2007 11:17:00 AM Author: Linda Arocho (t0good@webtv.net) Subject: spanking and alternatives You asked a very good question - how are parents supposed to learn the alternatives to spanking? From other parents? California might be willing to make spanking legal, but what tools will they be giving parents? Will they be offering free parenting classes? I knew a teen mom who lost custody of her infant because of comments from people. Everywhere she went with her baby (her own family had kicked her out) people would say, "Oh what a fat baby" or "Oh what a chunky baby" or other comments like that. She took that to mean that the baby was over-weight, so she cut back on what she was feeding her child. At the next "well-baby" apt, the doctor turned her in under the charge - infant with the failure to thrive. But who failed in that instance? I'd say her own family who kicked her out and society for not picking up the slack. In NY, Office of Children and Family Services want to do away with Time Outs because people aren't using them correctly. I say keep the time-outs in place, but teach providers/teachers the right way to issue a time-out. Discipline is a necessary evil in the world. I try to teach self-discipline and it works - but yes, it's HARD. Maybe that's why spanking is a favorite among parents - it's easy. One swat and it's all over - no redirection - no teaching an alternative to the child - just a swat and a "don't do that again"..there, job done... Name: Email: Subject

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