Kate Gosselin Defends Spanking

June 18th, 2009 by Castina

Controversial reality TV mom Kate Gosselin is speaking out on the recent controversy centered around photographs of her publicly spanking daughter Leah as members of the paparazzi looked on in shock.

The incident took place last Saturday after the child — one of the family’s 5-year-old sextuplets — disobeyed her mother by blowing a whistle after she was instructed not to.

“Whether the paparazzi are there or not, I am a mother first. I love my children and when they misbehave, I discipline them as I deem appropriate for the situation,” Kate Gosselin, of TLC’s Jon & Kate Plus 8, said in response to SpankGate in a statement to Life & Style Magazine on Wednesday.

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7 Responses to “Kate Gosselin Defends Spanking”

On June 19th 2009, ZONNA GRAHAM wrote:

There is nothing wrong with spanking your children with your hand or even a spanking stick, as long as you do not get carried away. There is a difference between spanking and beating and some kids just need a few swats to get the point!! More kids today need it and we wouldn’t have such spoiled and disrespectful children!!
On June 19th 2009, VV wrote:

I totally agree with Zonna. There is nothing wrong with spanking a child. As long as you don’t get carried away.
On June 19th 2009, ME. wrote:

I ALSO AGREE, SPANKING A CHILD IS NOT BEATING OR ABUSING A CHILD. KIDS TODAY ARE NOT LIKE THE KIDS OF YESTERDAY. THAT WHOLE THING WHERE THEY WANT TO CHARGE ALL PARENTS THAT SPANK WITH CHILD ABUSE HAS GONE TOOO FAR. KIDS HAVE GOTTEN TO THE POINT TO WHERE THEY SAY TO THE PARENTS IF U SPANK ME I WILL CALL THE POLICE, LIKE THEY ARE NOW IN CONTROL AND WHAT IS THE PARENT SUPPOSE TO DO THEN? NOW THE KID THINKS THEY RUN THE HOUSE. THATS WHY THEY STAY IN TROUBLE. PARENTS NO LONGER HAVE CONTROL……
On June 20th 2009, Karen wrote:

I spank, BUT there is a damn good reason, NOT because I am hanging on the phone, while Kate is suppose to be out enjoying time w/ her kids, it seems this bitch, has that cell phone glued to her right hand! The five y.o. was blowing a whistle, any reasonable parent would have gotten off the phone patiently, then taken the whistle, THEN calmly explained the importance of being quiet while ppl. are on the phone, NOT freak out and spank out of anger or frustration! I feel that five is too young to be spanked, for gosh sakes these kids are still in booster seats and wear bibs, she treats them like babies, I guess so she can keep earning more $$$, b/c as they get older the cute factor disappears, and so does the $$$. These kids should be taken away from both of these parents, the kids are exploited PLAIN & SIMPLE!!!!
On June 30th 2009, Nikki wrote:

I DON’T agree at all with your (Karen) response at all. Just because you are outside spending time with your children does not mean that you cannot take phone calls or be on the phone. I spend a lot of quality time with my kids but I still take my phone calls and talk on the phone. That doesn’t make you a bad parent. And as far as the kids being exploited..That’s a total crock. There are tons of child actors, reality tv stars and neither one of them have ever been accused of exploiting the kids. I agree with a spanking, when a child needs it. Lucky for me, I’ve never had to do it with mine. My kids are 12, 7, and 3 and so far I’ve gotten lucky. But I don’t think that a parent that spanks their child is a bad parent or should have their kids taken from them. My kids definitely know that I control the house, not them.
On August 16th 2009, Vicki wrote:

I agree spanking is not child abuse if you don’t get carried away with it. and I also don’t think these kids are being exploited like Nikki wrote there are alot of child TV stars. It seems like now days if you even spank your child someone can turn you into the child protection . Lucky I have good kids that I don’t need to spank ages 15 and 10. I just think their trying to make the situation look like its more then what it is.
On September 14th 2009, PDeverit wrote:

Child buttock-battering vs. DISCIPLINE:

Child buttock-battering for the purpose of gaining compliance is nothing more than an inherited bad habit.

Its a good idea for people to take a look at what they are doing, and learn how to DISCIPLINE instead of hit.

I think the reason why television shows like “Supernanny” and “Dr. Phil” are so popular is because that is precisely what many (not all) people are trying to do.

There are several reasons why child buttock-battering isn’t a good idea. Here are some good, quick reads recommended by professionals:

Plain Talk About Spanking
by Jordan Riak,

The Sexual Dangers of Spanking Children
by Tom Johnson,

NO VITAL ORGANS THERE, So They Say
by Lesli Taylor M.D. and Adah Maurer Ph.D.

Most compelling of all reasons to abandon this worst of all bad habits is the fact that buttock-battering can be unintentional sexual abuse for some children. There is an abundance of educational resources, testimony, documentation etc available on the subject that can easily be found by doing a little research on “spanking”.

Just a handful of those helping to raise awareness of why child buttock-battering isn’t a good idea:

American Academy of Pediatrics,

American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry,

Center For Effective Discipline,

PsycHealth Ltd Behavioral Health Professionals,

Churches’ Network For Non-Violence,

Nobel Peace Prize recipient Archbishop Desmond Tutu,

Parenting In Jesus’ Footsteps,

Global Initiative To End All Corporal Punishment of Children,

United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

In 26 countries, child buttock-battering is prohibited by law (with more in process). In fact, the US was the only UN member that did not ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child.