WOTMR: Spanking Authorities

In my last blog I wrote that children learn best if they accept their teacher as an person of authority. And I will stand by that even as I'm presented by one of the stupidest means to reinforce authority by 'The Way of the Master'. Namely: Spanking.

Authority stems from character and competence. By his/her character the teacher or parent has to perform his/her role and by the competence reinforce that he/she belongs in that role. Coming from there I have to criticize quite a few behaviors.
One typical error (at least in Europe) is that parents and teachers want to be best friends with their children. They aren't; that's not their role. If by chance you are a parent or a teacher who wants to be best friend with their children / students: Your children already have best friends (at least I hope so). They also need a Mom, a Dad, or a teacher. Yes they won't like you as parent or as teacher as they like their best friends - but on the other hand: they also don't like their best friends as they like their parents and teachers. And especially the teacher has to realize that being liked by everyone isn't necessarily part of his/her job.
So much to the character part. As parent and teacher you also have to show your competence. That means that you don't just tell your children to do something but also explain why you want them to do that. If necessary: Explain why it is good for them.
OK, I couldn't possibly think of any good reason for reading the bible the fifth time - but (Todd) if you would want your children to read it the fifth time than that would be your job to explain.
Furthermore: Parents shouldn't put the competence of the teachers in question. A teacher might be wrong on some points, but as soon as parents start to slander their children's teachers in front of their children they shouldn't be all to much surprised if their child perform even worse at school.

And now: Spanking and Slapping.
Whenever you feel the need to spank or slap your child you should also feel the need to spank and slap yourself. Because apparently you could neither convince your child with your character nor with your competence otherwise. Each time you spank and slap your children you also put your competence into question. To your child you seem unrestrained in the moment you slap it. And maybe it will do as you told your child to do.
But it won't do it because it's convinced that what it has to do is for its own good. That will combine with the feeling of being treated unfairly and by your child just doing something in the mindset that it was blackmailed to do it. So while your child might do what you want it to do, it will do it in a mindset of frowardness - perhaps even thinking that you yourself couldn't even reason your demands and thereby questioning your authority.

Therefor spanking authorities are most of all spanking their own authority.

Does therefor spanking have to be illegal?

Yes, because this encourages that this behavior disappears from our societies. If you just spanked your child once and mildly it will most likely turn out like this: No plaintiff, no judge.
Do you really think your children will run to the courts as soon as they are slapped the first time?
They will do if it becomes a habit and than it is adequate for them to do so. And apart from arresting the parents or fining them (which would also hurt the children) they should be sent into parenting counseling. At least for the first times they come into court for spanking their children.

By the way: Wouldn't Christian parenting courses make great as a program at your local church?