A Texas judge declares spanking a child a crime
A Texas woman was sentenced to five years probation after pleading guilty to the charge of Injury of a Child. What did this Corpus Christi mother of three do? She spanked her then nearly 2-year-old daughter.
Rosalina Gonzales: Charged with Injury of Child for spanking her toddler.
"You don't spank children today," said Judge Jose Longoria. "In the old days, maybe we got spanked, but there was a different quarrel. You don't spank children."
Prosecutors are requiring Rosalina Gonzales to take parenting classes, follow Child Protection Services (CPS) guidelines, and pay $50 to the Children's Advocacy Center in addition to being on probation.
Gonzales spanked her daughter in December 2010. Her daughter's paternal grandmother noticed red marks on the child's bottom and took her to a hospital to be checked out, according to KZTV-10, Corpus Christi.
The state has put Gonzales's three children in the hands of the grandmother. The mother is working with CPS to regain custody.
Spanking as a way of discipline is rooted in past generations. Many of us have parents who smacked our buns when we touched the hot pot on the stove. These days the trend seems to be against spanking with experts recommending other forms of discipline, such as time-outs. In a 2009 BabyCenter survey of 1,300 moms, 81 percent of moms said they were spanked as kids yet only 49 percent chose to swat their
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