Is Spanking Really Child Abuse?

April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month and as a result we are seeing more news stories concerning this crisis. After reading some of the national and local statistics it is easy to see that this is a crisis in our country and our area.

I struck up a conversation regarding this issue with a friend the other day. He was saying the numbers could be misleading in that parents who spank their child are sometimes considered to be child abusers. Well, that opened up a dialog for sure. Is he right? Who am I to say?!

One thing I do know is, I took a few swats when I was a kid and I deserved them looking back at it. So is spanking out of the question for parents? Will someone turn a parent in for child abuse for doing so?

I guess it all depends on that fine line of discipline for children. Don't spank your child and your kid will run rampant. Cross the line and you are possibly considered a child abuser. It's tough to be a parent these days.