Drop the belt and talk to your kids

Anyone remember the Golden Rule?

It seems that for some parents these days, it only applies if their kids adhere to the Fifth Commandment. You know, the one where you are supposed to honor your father and mother.

We've seen an uptick lately in suburban court cases of adults beating children with belts. And it's become a stark reminder that we take child abuse in its various forms a lot more seriously as a society than we used to.

Many of us can remember being unable to sit down for hours after a good thrashing with a belt or a switch and wonder what the big deal is. Well, it is a big deal.

Tina Shaw of Lake in the Hills on Tuesday was sentenced to 45 days in jail for beating her former roommate's 7-year-old daughter with a belt.

She initially faced a charge of aggravated domestic battery, a felony for which she could have faced three to seven years in prison. But she pleaded it down to a misdemeanor.

Just last week Jonathan Hare of Elgin was charged with aggravated battery of a child and two counts of aggravated domestic battery.

Police say he beat his child with a belt, causing injuries to the child's face, arms, chest and back. That child is now living with a relative. Hare could be sentenced to two to five years if convicted of the most serious charge.

In late January, Jennifer Jordan of Lake County pleaded guilty to attempted aggravated battery to a child for beating her daughter with a leather belt that had been quartered and wrapped with duct tape. The girl got up late for school.

And in October, Terry Barnhill of Elgin was charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon after beating his then 4-year-old daughter with a belt. A judge found him not guilty of the felony but did convict him of a count of misdemeanor domestic battery.

The girl testified that her father beat her relentlessly with a black belt and had her run up and down the stairs in their home repeatedly. If she couldn't make the trip in 10 seconds, he hit her with the belt some more.

Barnhill's attorney said at the time that prosecutors were unable to prove his client used the belt in a deadly manner.

Granted, it's a stretch to call a belt a deadly weapon, but using one can be a form of gateway abuse. A 2008 study by doctors at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill found that parents who use a belt or a paddle to spank their kids are nine times more likely to abuse their child in more severe ways. Parents are more likely to beat, burn or shake kids if they are frequent spankers.

In Illinois, "excessive corporal punishment" is one of many things considered child abuse.

Illinois courts expect you to keep violence against your kids in check. The doctors who did the spanking study have some sage advice: Use your voice. Talk to your kids.

Treat them the way you'd like to be treated.

After all, you're not doing them much good if you're sitting in jail.