Is spanking a thirteen-year-old child illegal?<\/p>\n\t
As of this writing, spanking remains legal in all fifty states of the United States. Almost all state statutes state that a parent or guardian can use reasonable and appropriate force to maintain discipline and to promote the well-being of a child’s welfare. Most states extend that right to other people who are caring for or supervising the child. Some, but not all states, specifically exclude teachers from those granted such rights.<\/p>\n
There are no upper limits on age, other than the fact that this law deals with children (minors). The age of emancipation varies by state but it generally ranges from age 16 to 19. Actually, nothing is said that spanking can’t continue above the age of emancipation; the laws governing spanking are limited to children.<\/p>\n
Some states are very specific as to what is not allowed; others take a more general approach to forbid “abuse.” However, spanking a child on their bottom that causes no physical injury is not considered abuse in any state.<\/p>\n
See: “United States Statutes Pertaining to Spanking<\/a>” for details.<\/p>\n Some countries, such as Sweden, do have laws forbidding spanking. Sweden has been the subject of much scrutiny since it enacted its law in 1979. What is interesting is that Sweden has seen a substantial increase in both child abuse and violent crimes caused by youths since their law took effect. The rate of increase far exceeds those of countries that retain the right of parents to spank, such as the United States.<\/p>\n See “Where is Evidence That Non-Abusive Corporal Punishment Increases Aggression?<\/a>” and “Child Abuse in Sweden<\/a>” for details.<\/p>\n Regardless of governmental laws, God’s law states that spanking is necessary for the proper development of a child.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Question: Is spanking a thirteen-year-old child illegal? Answer: As of this writing, spanking remains legal in all fifty states of the United States. Almost all state statutes state that a parent or guardian can use reasonable and appropriate force to maintain discipline and to promote the well-being of a child’s welfare. Most states extend that…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[106,29,107,108],"class_list":["post-2868","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-discipline","tag-parenting","tag-raising-children","tag-spanking"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":13965,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/are-bare-bottom-spankings-necessary\/","url_meta":{"origin":2868,"position":0},"title":"Are bare-bottom spankings necessary?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 24, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I'm glad I came across your website and read so many things from other dads of older boys. I'm a single dad of a 13-year-old boy. I've been needing to spank him for his improper attitude, but I have been very afraid to. Mostly because I'm uptight about male\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Adolescence"","block_context":{"text":"Adolescence","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/parenting\/adolescence\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3684,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-you-get-over-the-embarrassment-of-spanking-a-teenager\/","url_meta":{"origin":2868,"position":1},"title":"How do you get over the embarrassment of spanking a teenager?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 10, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I'm glad I came across your website and read so many things from other dads of older boys. I'm a single dad of a 13-year-old boy. I've been needing to spank him for his improper attitude, but I have been very afraid to. Mostly because I'm uptight about male\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3757,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/a-series-of-questions-about-spanking\/","url_meta":{"origin":2868,"position":2},"title":"A series of questions about spanking","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 20, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: At what age does a father stop spanking his boy? I mean do you spank until he's 21 if he's still living with you? Do you spank a 13-year-old boy any differently from a 5-year-old boy? Clothed behind versus bare behind How often does one spank the boy? If\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":55911,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-spanking-cause-lower-iq-in-children\/","url_meta":{"origin":2868,"position":3},"title":"Does Spanking Cause Lower IQ in Children?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 17, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"by Sam Stinson \"He who withholds his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him diligently\" (Proverbs 13:24). I like to think that most scientific studies are not politically motivated. However, when I read about studies like the following, I'm forced to rethink this belief. A study\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":13852,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/did-i-do-the-right-thing-by-spanking-my-child-for-pushing-me\/","url_meta":{"origin":2868,"position":4},"title":"Did I do the right thing by spanking my child for pushing me?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 24, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a question. My youngest son is 4 years old. Yesterday he pushed me and said some bad words. I was upset and I asked him to apologize, but\u00a0he didn't. Today his misbehavior returned. He did the same thing. I\u00a0took him to his room, but he\u00a0yelled, so I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Childhood"","block_context":{"text":"Childhood","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/parenting\/childhood\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1941,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-teachers-spank-children\/","url_meta":{"origin":2868,"position":5},"title":"Should teachers spank children?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 22, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I really think that discipline is necessary sometimes. I remember that even teachers used to spank. Do you think it is still a good system of discipline for today? Answer: \"Is there anything of which it may be said, \"See, this is new\"? 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