Jill Zarin: Stop Spanking
"It's against the law and it's not acceptable," she says.
Advice guru and Real Housewives of New York City star Jill Zarin regularly speaks out against bullying and violence, and this time, she's addressing parents directly.
"I never spanked my daughter Allyson, now 18, it's against the law AND it's NOT acceptable. Physically harming someone is NOT acceptable at any age or for any reason," Jill writes on Hollybaby.com.
The author of Secrets of a Jewish Mother empathizes with moms and dads whose kids drive them crazy, but spanking, she says, is not the answer. Instead, Jill offers alternatives to hitting.
"A timeout can be very powerful as a punishment. Removing your child from what they like most whether it's video games, TVs or from having a play-date, can really get your message across."
Jill also makes it clear that children need boundaries, and that never punishing a child is a form of neglect. To help out confused parents, the Housewife provides examples of proper discipline for all of the standard kid tantrums, like refusing to eat their food, having a meltdown in the supermarket, freaking out in a movie theater, and throwing a fit over a toy.
Jill attributes her knack for rule enforcement to her parents, who were all about laying down the law when she was a teen. "I stole my dad’s car when I was a teen and I remember pulling up in the front of the house and I ran inside and hid in my room," Jill recalls. "I didn't get to use the car again for six months!"
Where do you stand? Should spanking be shelved? And would you take Jill's motherly advice? Start a Tweet Battle and hammer it out with your friends.
