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 chil'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 from 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