Children in the United States are not as lucky as Inuit children . Parents can spank their children at home . Similarly , schools can punish children by spanking or hitting as long as it is “ reasonable .” There are rules about what is reasonable . These rules look at the child’s age , the child’s past behavior , Why the person is hitting the child , and so on . However , the law says that officials cannot hit people in prisons or mental hospitals in the United States . Some people think it is not fair that officials can hit schoolchildren and not prisoners . Many school districts have their own laws and rules that forbid hitting students . These laws change form state to state .It really depends on where you live in the United States . In contrast , in Sweden , it is against the law for anyone-parent or teacher-to hit a child .