A US Father Calls Police to Supervise Him Spanking His Daughter

A father in Florida has stirred up a heated parenting debate after he

called police to watch him discipline his daughter because he didn't want to get in trouble for spanking her too hard.

WPBF reported:

The man’s 12-year-old daughter got into a heated argument with her sister Monday, and the father wanted to discipline his daughter, according to a deputy’s report. A deputy came over to his house, supervised the discipline, and determined it was within legal bounds and that there was no crime, and left, authorities said.

Although it may sound bizarre to some parents, the sheriff’s office has received several similar requests in the past. Undersheriff Noel Stephen said he has personally supervised approximately 12 spankings.

“It happens,” Stephen said. “It’s definitely not something we advertise to do,  and even though law enforcement has been willing to help out in this situation, watching a parent discipline their child is something that’s done only when a deputy has no other calls to handle.”

Parenting experts Stefanie Weiss, Scott Ventrella and Jacqueline Laurita weighed in with their reactions on "Fox and Friends Weekend."

"Calling the police?" Weiss asked. "I'm sure the child was extremely mortified and embarrassed. Spanking a child and calling the police to watch them, is he trying to cover his tracks?"

"He must have really then thought that he had to spank the child that hard," she said.

Ventrella suggested that the police have better things to do than supervise a spanking.

Ventrella added that he was concerned about the age-appropriateness of spanking a 12-year-old, in addition to multiple studies that show spanking does not work.

Laurita said sometimes that embarrassing a child or letting them know that they disappointed you can be enough punishment.