Under Florida law, is it legal for a mother's boyfriend to give her child a spanking? The child is in first grade, and the boyfriend gave him a spanking for hitting another child (a girl) at school. The boyfriend is not the child's father.
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Under Florida law, is it legal for a mother's boyfriend to give her child a spanking? The child is in first grade, and the boyfriend gave him a spanking for hitting another child (a girl) at school. The boyfriend is not the child's father.
If you and your boyfriend agreed about the spanking, and the spanking was not excessive, then it would be permissible corporal punishment performed under your authority. If you did not give your boyfriend permission to spank your child, he should not have done so.
To prevent problems going forward, you need to make sure that you, your boyfriend and the child's father are all on the same page when it comes to discipline of the child and corporal punishment. If your boyfriend is physically disciplining your child, that creates a possible issue that could end up being used against you in custody proceedings, more so if he's acting without your permission. If the boyfriend engages in an excessive physical punishment, you can potentially be held responsible for his actions -- for not protecting your child.
The discipline of a child is something best exercised by a parent, and when parents are divorced is best exercised in a manner consistent with any agreement between the child's parents.