Do you have kids? They’re the greatest. Then again, they can drive you nuts, until you want to tell them to put a sock in it.

Well, in Pinellas County, Florida, there’s a twist. They put the kids in a sock. A four-year old boy was disciplined in a public school there by being placed in a “body sock” designed for therapy with autistic children. But this boy isn’t autistic. Instead, the sock was used to effectively incarcerate the child.

The boy’s parents, not informed by the school, are now threatening to sue. The boy’s father says, “I don’t like it at all.”

I’m with him.

Next thing I know, there’s a bill in California, introduced by Assemblywoman Sally Lieber, that makes it a crime to spank your kid.

Should parents caught swatting their tantrum-throwing, unruly kids face a year in jail or a $1,000 fine? Or perhaps forced parenting classes?

And who would pretend to have the secret of parenting? The government?

Get a grip, legislator. Abuse is already against the law.

I’m not a spanking parent. Though, my kids demanded some restraint of tirade and a swat here or there. I know parents who spank much more readily. It’s one of many decisions parents make.

Lieber has never had children, but does have a cat, which her veterinarian told her not to hit. She says, “[I]f you never hit a cat, you should never hit a kid.”

Dear legislator, I would never legislate your parenting of your cat. Why not back off legislating our parenting of our children?

This is Common Sense. Apparently in very short supply. I’m Paul Jacob.