Don't tell me how to parent!

I agree that there is no reason to spank a baby but the idea of making it illegal to spank a child under 3 is ridiculous. California's no-spank bill is wrong in so many ways. As a parent of 4 children I know full well that spanking infants and babies will not do anything because they cannot understand why. But I do not like the idea of government coming in and telling me how I can discipline my child. This bill right now is limiting the age range up to 3 years old but this could be just the beginning. What will be next? Where do you draw the line? How do you define a spanking? What if I just pat my child's bottom and someone reports it because they think that I am spanking my child? Assembywoman Sally Lieber is using the following rational for this bill:

"I think it's pretty hard to argue you need to beat a child 3 years old or younger,'' Lieber said. "Is it OK to whip a 1-year-old or a 6-month-old or a newborn?"

My question on this is: are we talking about spanking or beating up a child? They are 2 very different things. I was spanked when I was little but it was never a beating. Child abuse is wrong but this is not the way to try and stop it. You may not agree on the idea of spanking children and I can respect that, but that does not mean that you can impose your idea of how I should discipline my child.
Another question is how are you going to enforce this? How are you going to handle all of the false reports and the trauma that it inflicts on innocent families? The only people that are going to benefit from this are the lawyers that are going to be handling the lawsuits that arise from this.

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