While the bill likely will go nowhere, it’s unfathomable that it could even be proposed: In the relevant part, a bill now pending in the Illinois legislature would criminalize, as “parental bullying,” any parent who knowingly, with intent to discipline or alter the behavior of a child, says or messages anything that would coerce the child.
Think of all that would criminalize: Yelling at your child to stop throwing food at the table. Chewing out your kid for not doing homework. Giving your child a mean look for using foul language. The list is endless.
To top it off, the website of the bill’s sponsor, Rep. La Shawn Ford (D-Chicago), says he “is a firm believer in the power of responsible parenting and established the Council on Responsible Fatherhood, which aims to support fathers and help them to become more responsible and present.”
Labeling disciplined parenting as “bullying” may be precisely the last thing Chicago needs. Only 11% of Black kids in Chicago public schools read at grade level. Just 6% can do math at grade level. That’s a parental failure, not just school failure. And crime? Can any sane person deny that Chicago’s crime epidemic stems in part from parents who don’t discipline?
Ford introduced his parental bullying bill in December. It has no other sponsors and was recently assigned to the House Rules Committee, which probably means it will not move forward. Still, how could an elected lawmaker even propose such a thing?