Debate between discipline and child abuse
JACKSON, Tenn. — Minnesota Vikings star Adrian Peterson is fighting a felony child abuse charge. He said he accidentally physically injured his 4-year-old son while disciplining him. Peterson said that while he is not a perfect parent, he is not a child abuser. However, an official with the Carl Perkins Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse said there is a thin line between discipline and abuse. “Most of the time parenting behaviors are repeated,” said Sherry Cole, Madison County Director of Services with the Carl Perkins Center. “And a lot of people who are physically abused as children do the same to their own children, and they don’t recognize that it is child abuse.” “There’s a difference between spanking your child and abuse, especially in a case like this where there’s an injury that’s received,” Cole said. “And there’s no state in the United States that defends this kind of action.” There has been a major about-face by the Minnesota Vikings organization. The team has announced star running back Peterson will not play another game until his case of alleged child abuse is resolved.
