To the Editor.—
I'd like to comment on a letter, "Hypovolemic Shock in a Child as a Consequence of Corporal Punishment," published in the April 1991 issue of Pediatrics.1
I believe that presenting this case as a consequence of corporal punishment is misrepresenting the case. It appears that this is a clear-cut case of child abuse in which the instrument used just happened to be a paddle and the excuse for the abuse just happened to be corporal punishment. As a consequence of understating the case as one of corporal punishment, an individual who has been abused and has been subjected to "grievous bodily assault" is still at risk. However, if this incident is couched in terms of reference of corporal punishment, then there is little reason to think that, despite the Department of Social Services being involved, this could not happen again, perhaps with more serious consequences.
