NFL scandal rekindles child discipline debate

A darkening cloud builds over the NFL as the league is hit with a second blow in just a week.

This time, Vikings running back Adrian Peterson was arrested for child abuse — accused of beating his 4-year-old son with a tree branch.

Peterson has made his career in offense, but the allegations are putting him on defense. He issued a statement Monday, saying, “”I am not a perfect parent, but I am, without a doubt, not a child abuser. I am someone that disciplined his child and did not intend to cause him any injury.”

The familiar and polarizing debate of child-rearing is now back in the spotlight. Should parents ever get physical with their children?

“A spanking and discipline from a loving parent under the right circumstances is not abusive,” Bend grandmother Jamie Moss said Monday.

Bend parent Angela Akins agreed: “Definitely, I think what was done was overboard,” Akins said of the Peterson case. “I don’t believe in harming a child’s body, but we’re in a society that has abandoned discipline in many ways, and we are reaping major consequences because of that.”

Other parents told NewsChannel 21 they believe spanking is not a solution, and only teaches children hitting can be an appropriate response to conflict.

KIDS Center Executive Director Shelly Smith said it’s up to parents to choose punishments that work best for the family. She said spanking, like other methods of discipline, should be carefully considered.

“It needs to be something that’s done in a non-angry or a non-emotional way, and the child can have that conversation with (his or her) parent,” Smith said.

The KIDS Center is a nonprofit based in Bend and dedicated to the prevention, evaluation andtreatment ofchild abuse.

Smith said when it comes to physical discipline, there’s a line parents should never cross. She said leaving a child with visible marks or bruises is child abuse. She also recommends parents never hit kids with an object, and consider other forms of punishing bad behavior.

“There are some great options out there,” Smith said. “Time-outs, you know, taking away something that’s important to that child.”

If you need help with parenting or are looking for resources to help you with your children you can visit kidscenter.org. You can also contact the Family Resource Center or Central Oregon. That website is frconline.org.