As many of you may have seen while driving on Guam's roadways, a new billboard has been put up by the Attorney General Doug Moylan’s office Thursday that appears to promote spanking as a form of child discipline.  The billboard’s message is already causing some mixed reaction among the community, with some saying that's how they grew up, while others arguing times have changed.

Child discipline or child abuse? For many, it’s the thin line between the two that’s sparking debate following the installation of the AG's new billboard. 

Devin Manglona of Yigo told KUAM News, "I agree to that because I grew up good. I got spanked when I was naughty." And Dededo resident Ryzrtanian Chugrad added, "In my opinion, honestly, if it’s under discipline like to set your kids straight, then yeah. It’s okay. But when they just do it when they come home from work and they vent it out to their kids and just beat them, that’s a different story."

Images of a hanger, belt and broom surround a larger billboard that illustrate a child focused on an iPad, underage vaping, and students fighting.  The headline: Parents teach respect. 

Some islanders admit that’s how they were disciplined growing up, as Merizo's Thomas Cruz shared about the sign, "Not much of a reaction, because I came from the south and I grew up in that type of style of parenting. To me, I felt normal about it to be honest. Kids do need disciplining, but that’s just me. A lot of other people have a lot of opinions about it."

Others argue times have changed and they wouldn’t pass that on to their kids. "I think there’s a better way to discipline kids and one of them is to do away with all this electronic technology," noted Lucia Aponik of Chalan Pago. "All these things you see that take the kids away from family life."

For others still, while the images are jarring, it’s about education. Scanning the QR code on the billboard sends you to the AG's Office' website that explains this month’s message. The website explains the AG aims to “Help parents understand their options and the limited extent that the government should take interfering with their parental rights.”

Cruz commented, "I guess because there’s a stigma that most parents are afraid of disciplining because they’re afraid of the law, that they’re going to get arrested. Then most kids, what they do is they rebel against their parents saying, ‘Oh, you can’t touch me because I’ll call the cops, I’ll get you arrested, or I’ll go to [Child Protective Service].’"

The billboard’s explanation says the Organic Act of Guam and the U.S. Constitution protects a parent and guardian’s right to raise their child as a fundamental right, and that Guam law allows for “Corporal punishment as a form of discipline to help raise one’s child.”

"I guess it puts out information on what to do and what not to do. Like what’s the fine line of abuse and what’s the fine line of discipline," said Cruz. "Whether it’s good or bad, I don’t know. "