When Does Discipline Become Abuse in California?

Discipline and Abuse in California

California law indicates that disciplining a child becomes abusive in certain general scenarios. Here’s what you need to know about when discipline becomes abuse in California.

According to the California Penal Code, physically disciplining a child becomes a crime if the punishment is considered cruel, inhuman, or results in a traumatic condition. Spanking or slapping a child may or may not rise to this level depending on the specific circumstances of the case, but there is no law that states that these actions are automatically illegal.

Is Spanking Your Child Legal in California?

Spanking a child is legal in California, except under certain circumstances. California Penal Code Section 273d outlines the general characteristics that must apply to physical discipline for it to be considered a crime. Specifically, the law states that willfully inflicted corporal punishment is illegal if it is cruel, inhuman, or results in a traumatic condition. In practice, the “cruel” and “inhuman” portions of this law simply mean unnecessary and excessive. In other words, for the discipline to be legal, corporal punishment must be warranted, necessary to discipline the child for some action, and must not be excessive in relation to the severity of the child’s actions. The term “traumatic condition” simply refers to injuries or wounds, either internal or external.

Based on these definitions, spanking a child is legal if:

The child’s actions warranted spanking,
The spanking is entirely disciplinary,
The spanking is not excessive, and
The spanking does not cause injuries or wounds

With this standard in mind, it is easy to think of situations in which spanking is legal, as well as situations in which spanking is not legal. For example, if a parent repeatedly tells their child to not hit their sibling but the child continues to do so, a single spank as a disciplinary action would certainly be legal. The child’s actions warrant discipline, the parent’s prior attempts to stop the child’s actions did not work, and the spanking itself was not excessive. However, if the parent in this scenario excessively spanks the child causing physical injuries such as bruises and bleeding, then that would certainly be illegal because it is cruel and causes a traumatic condition. Furthermore, if the child does nothing wrong and a parent decides to repeatedly spank them because the parent is simply angry, that would be illegal as well because it is unwarranted and non-disciplinary, and as such is cruel.

While the aforementioned scenarios are more black-and-white, there are certainly situations in the middle – where spanking may or may not be considered illegal abuse. In these scenarios, it is the responsibility of the court to determine whether or not such spanking should be considered a crime.

If the spanking is carried out with an object rather than a hand, the spanking may still be legal. This depends on whether or not the use of the object was justified, which is determined by whether or not a reasonable person would consider the punishment necessary. For example, the use of a wooden spoon to spank a child would be considered more reasonable/justifiable than the use of a larger, heavier object such as a metal pipe.

Can a Parent Be Arrested for Hitting a Child for Discipline?

As previously discussed, corporal punishment of a child in California is illegal if it is cruel, inhuman, or causes a traumatic condition. Therefore, if a parent hits a child in a manner that is cruel, inhuman, or causes external or internal injuries, they may be arrested. A parent arrested for child abuse in this manner may face either a felony or misdemeanor charge. The punishment associated with the felony charge is either two, four, or six years in state prison, no more than one year in county jail, up to a $6,000 fine, or both a fine and imprisonment. If charged with a misdemeanor charge due to certain circumstances, the parent faces only up to one year in county jail and/or a fine of up to $6,000.

Is Slapping a Child Considered Abuse?

While spanking a child on the bottom is considered to be a more normal and acceptable form of corporal discipline, other physical punishments are more greatly scrutinized and are generally decided on a case-to-case basis. As such, slapping a child in the face may or may not be legal depending on the individual circumstances. For example, if it could reasonably be assumed that a slap was warranted based on a child’s actions and the slap did not leave a physical mark, then it is most likely legal. However, if the slap was unreasonable given the actions of the child, or the slap left a mark, then it is most likely illegal abuse. It is up to the jury to decide whether or not a slap is legal or illegal given these circumstances, but the societal consensus is that it is less acceptable than spanking.

FAQs on When Does Discipline Become Abuse in California

I just slapped my child because they did something wrong. Did I just break California state law?

Maybe. It depends on whether or not the child reasonably deserved this form of punishment, as well as whether or not the slap left a mark.

My parents spanked me a lot when I was a child. Did they break the law?

It depends on whether or not the spankings were warranted by your actions, as well as whether or not they were excessive and caused physical injuries.

Can I spank my child if they are doing something very wrong and are not listening to me when I tell them to stop?

If the child’s actions truly warrant spanking, then it is legal to spank them as long as the spanking itself is not excessive and does not physically injure the child.

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