I grew up in an era where everybody’s parents had a right to discipline everybody’s children. My friend’s parents were allowed to spank me if I “acted up,” which resulted in me always being on my best behavior while in their care. Before I would leave to spend the night at a friend’s house their mother and mine would exchange a dialogue in which it was noted that they had the right to discipline me if it was deemed necessary. When they would get dropped off at my house those same words came forth from their parents. I will note this was more prevalent among my church friends as our parents were not ones to “spare the rod.” Even so, the people my parents gave permission to discipline me were people that they knew and trusted. They were family members and close friends. They were not the clerk at the local store.
Recently a Wrightsville, Georgia Dollar General Store employee was arrested and received charges for spanking the child of a customer with a belt. The police were first made aware of the incident after the child’s father called saying what had occurred. A viewing of the store surveillance video confirmed what had happened to the child, age 8.
“Apparently, the 8-year-old boy was running around the store and got into a confrontation with 39-year-old Emilia Graciela Bell. Bell told investigators the boy threw a cookie at her and that’s when she removed her belt, chased the boy down and spanked him behind the counter.”
I can’t imagine how I would feel knowing that someone I didn’t know took it upon themselves to discipline my child. The clerk could have easily notified the child’s mother of the incident and allowed her to address it accordingly. Adding fuel to the fire is the fact that I don’t spank, so how dare another person spank my child? Regardless of your thoughts on spanking it is difficult to fathom a stranger disciplining your child even if your child’s behavior was out of line. Take a look at the video below:
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BMWK — How would you feel if someone you didn’t know disciplined your child? Do you think the store employee was out of line for her actions? Does the saying “It takes a village to raise a child” hold true in this case?