Mom and aunt arrested for spanking 12-year-old

by Roger Sinasohn (Subscribe to Roger Sinasohn's posts) Mar 8th 2007 4:01PM

Categories: Just For Moms, Teens & Tweens, Relatives, Safety, Development

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Nancy Simpson's twelve-year-old nephew was "being bad". Luckily, she just happened to have a wooden backscratcher wrapped in electrical tape handy. While the boy's mother watched, she spanked him. That'll learn him. Only, they then left the boy home alone, still screaming. He was screaming so loud, in fact, that neighbors called the cops, who took him to the hospital. He was admitted with severely bruised buttocks.

And where did Mom and Auntie disappear to? A parent-teacher conference at school, naturally. I'll bet that was a doozy of a meeting. The aunt was subsequently charged with simple assault and endangering the welfare of a child; the mother was only charged with endangering the welfare of a child. Both have pleaded not guilty. "Legally, there's nothing wrong with paddling," said District Attorney Charles Chenot. "The problem comes if a child has been left badly bruised or bleeding."

Personally, I don't condone spanking, but while I might not approve, it's not my business how other parents discipline their children. To spank a child so much, however, that he's left screaming and in need of medical attention, and then to take off while he's still crying is, in my opinion, abuse. And who keeps a backscratcher wrapped in electrical tape? I have a backscratcher in my office but it's not wrapped in tape in preparation for use as a weapon. Hopefully all this will result in the mother and aunt getting some much needed help.

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Comments (6)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

ashley 3-08-2007 @ 8:43PM

this was obviosly an extreme case, bordering on child abuse, and i think both the aunt and the mother should be punished. however, i do think that alot of people point and say "abuse" a bit too often.

i have a 2 year old little girl. when she doesn't get her way, anyone in her way had better watch out.
for this reason, i dread taking her shopping with me.

recently, on a trip to wal-mart, she threw one of her tantrums. she leaned over and bit my hand while i was pushing the cart. needless to say i was mad. but what she did was wrong. so i slapped her on the hand. discipline. not abuse.
a woman passing us by felt it was her place to tell me that i shouldn't hit my little girl. its abuse. it took everything i had at that moment not to yell at her. how dare she?! especially when she hand't seen what happened moments before.

i am totally 100% against child abuse. but i think that the line between abuse and discipline has become too fuzzy.

cce 3-09-2007 @ 7:38AM

The only good news to glean from this is that Mom and Aunt are now under surveillance. Police, schools and doctors will all be scrutinizing this family. Though, in my own bleak assessment, abuse patterns are permanent and I'm afraid that this child is in for a wild ride.

Anna 3-09-2007 @ 8:07AM

That poor little boy. I hope he can emotionally heal from that trauma. The one person you trust more than anyone in the world NOT to hurt you is your parent.

Ashley, you should have firmly and politely told that woman in Wal-Mart to mind her own business.

Ginny 3-09-2007 @ 12:59PM

"While the boy's mother watched, she spanked him. "

No, she didn't spank him. She beat him with a blunt object. BIG difference.

Jessica 3-09-2007 @ 1:54PM

Agreed Ginny. Enormous difference.

sheilaj 3-09-2007 @ 3:32PM

I think discipline is needed in children but obviously not to the extent these two women took it. Some times a pop on the bottom is needed, but with your hand, not objects.
Ashley I hear you. I have been there with two little ones that are only 18 months apart. I've gotten the look for firmly smacking the hand for doing things like that. I was in Home Depot one time waiting for a quote on counter tops. In the mean time my son who was 2 1/2 kept running around the washing machines and opening and slamming the doors (the really expensive ones to boot) he was asked 3 times to stop by the 4th time i grabbed his hand and popped it and picked him up and set him inside the cart. The woman acted like i had created the crime of the century. Gave me a scowl and said I would never do that to a child. I felt like socking the lady. I popped his hand, but there wasn't one mark on the boy and he cried for 1 minute after that. I had another incident at Walmart while grocery shopping. I had my newborn and my 3 yr old daughter with me.She had told me she had to go to the bathroom, I took her she wouldn't go, so I continued shopping again, 5 minutes later "I have to go" took her to the bathroom, she wouldn't go again and decided to throw a fit about going into the bathroom, this happened atleast five more times before check out. We get in the check out lane and she starts throwing her fit again. I told her I would take her again after we checked out. She continued to throw her fit which got louder when more people got in line. This one lady in the next lane told the cashier I don't know why she just doesn't take her to the bathroom, so I just loudly stated when my cashier asked my daughter if she was having a bad day, that she is I've taken her to the bathroom atleast 6 times during our trip here in the store and she throws a fit when we get to the bathroom that she doesn't want to go in and use it, so I have taken her and it would be nice if people wouldn't run their mouths until they know the situation that is going on and why I'm not dropping everything in the checkout lane to take her to the bathroom which she won't use. The lady got a little flush in the face. I get sick of people doing that. I've seen it happen to other moms. There is always one woman who thinks they know everything and that she is the only good mother around and loves to criticize the mom for their parenting. Every child acts up and most moms know what works on their child and what doesn't! there are two different problems with children today. One being parents who are obviously like that lady and lets children do whatever they want and give no discipline what so ever and those who take it to extreme like this mom and aunt did!