A jury in Raymore, Missouri has absolved the mother of a 6-year-old girl from domestic assault charges. She was tried for spanking her daughter, which allegedly left the little girl badly bruised. The jury handed down the not guilty verdict on Oct. 28.
Speaking on behalf of the 26-year-old mom, lawyer Kim Benjamin points out that spanking is parenting in this case, as it was a form of discipline. It was alleged that the mother spanked her daughter five times, citing it was for disciplinary reasons Mommy Page reports.
It was the girl's father, who is no longer with the mother, who saw the bruises on his daughter. It was also learned that the mother's boyfriend spanked the 6-year-old as well, thus it was not easy to establish who among the adults could've caused the bruises. Yet, the lawyer reiterated that it was a necessary disciplinary action.
Laws in child discipline in the state of Missouri, under its Revised Statuses, allows for the use of physical force in disciplining minors. It also cites that the use of such force must not bear risks like disfigurement, extreme pain, emotional distress or death. Members of the jury apparently believed spanking is parenting and have applied this in their own children.
The prosecutor, through Jordan Logan, expressed that the mom's case wasn't about just about using spanking as parenting. "We believe it's (a commentary) on parents lashing out in anger, in a way any other person assaulting (someone) lashes out," Logan said, per Lee's Summit Journal. "It's not a parents' rights issue - it's a protection of children issue."
What the lawyers didn't divulge was what exactly the 6-year-old girl did to receive more than five spankings. Though experts agree that spanking is parenting in some cases, any form of physical discipline must be approached with the proper mindset.
"A child should always receive a clear warning before any offense that might merit a spanking," writes family expert Dr. Jared Pingleton via Time. Experts advise using other forms of discipline first instead of spanking, especially since children are always vulnerable. The spanking could easily escalate as an assault. Watch this panel of mothers discuss if spanking is parenting in the video below.
