"He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes" (Proverbs 13:24).
"Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him" (Proverbs 22:15).
"Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die. Thou shalt beat him with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell" (Proverbs 23:13-14).
"The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame" (Proverbs 29:15).
From the Associated Press:
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. -- Police arrested an 8-year-old boy who allegedly had a violent outburst in school, head-butting his teacher and kicking an assistant principal, when he was told he couldn't go outside to play with other students.
The 4-foot pupil was led away from Rawls Byrd Elementary School in handcuffs Tuesday and charged with disorderly conduct and assault and battery.
"It's not something that happens every day," Maj. Stan Stout said of what could be the department's youngest arrest ever.
Stout said the chair-tossing, desk-turning outburst occurred after a teacher, and later the assistant principal, attempted to stop the boy from joining his classmates.
The child was later released to his parents.
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It wasn't all that long ago when this kid would simply have been given a whupin, and that would have been the end of it. But now most schools do not spank kids, and so the only alternative is this.
The question to ask is which is crueler to a child: to give him a spanking, or to discipline him through the criminal justice system?
The first line of defense against anti-social behavior should not be a policeman slapping on the handcuffs.
