Rosalina Gonzales from Corpus Christi, TX has lost custody of her children, after spanking her toddler with an open hand.  The child's grandmother filed the police complaint after seeing that the spanking had left some red marks. 

KHOU in Houston reports that Gonzales will have to serve probation, take parenting classes and work with Child Protective Service in order to get her children back.

Have the grandmother and authorities gone too far here?  Details of the incident are vague, but assuming the mother has no prior record of abuse, this seems like a gross overreaction.  Have parents lost the right to spank?  The spank-or-don't-spank debate is older than I am, and research results seem to be inconclusive.

Personally, I think parents have the right to spank, as long as they do so sparingly and only when necessary.  Good parents will know better than to inflict physical punishment that crosses the line. I've always thought that it's necessary for parents to set clear behavioral boundaries, and punish appropriately when those lines are crossed.

 

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