Spanking children is a long time hot button issue for parents, but a Texas court just sent a warning to parents with a "spare the rod, spoil the child" mentality to change their ways.
Rosalina Gonzales was sentenced to five-years probation after pleading guilty to the charge of Injury of a Child for spanking her then nearly two-year-old daughter.
The Corpus Christi mom of three reached an agreement with prosecutors requiring her to take parenting classes and pay a $50 fine to the Children's Advocacy Center, reports KZTV10.
"You don't spank children today," said Judge Jose Longoria. "In the old days, maybe we got spanked, but there was a different quarrel. You don't spank children."
According to KZTV10 Gonzales was arrested last December after the child's grandmother noticed red marks on the girl's behind and took her to the local Children's Hospital to get checked out.
Gonzales currently does not have custody of her three children, who will remain with their paternal grandmother until the Department of Family and Protective Services agrees she is ready to have them back.
Courts across the country and beyond seem to be getting tougher on spanking -- especially when the child isn't your own. In April, 67-year-old James Freeman was sentenced to one month in jail and 11 months probation for spanking a two-year-old who tore tore up plants in his yard and ignored his orders to stop.
And in a seemingly more serious case, the Calgary Appeals Court in Calgary, Canada decided that a two-year probation sentence was inappropriate for Mark Anthony Harris who was convicted for assault with a weapon after he spanked his nine-year-old daughter with a belt. The Appeals Court ruled that Harris should serve nine months of jail time instead.
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