Under Attack

I'm finally living the nightmare of many parents who support spanking: we're being "assessed" by the county social services department because Sam's teacher found some bruises on him and without so much as a heads up, called the authorities on us. Why? Because they knew we spanked him and assumed that meant we were also capable of hitting him.
Did we cause these bruises? No. Had we even spanked Sam in recent weeks? No. Has our son ever been a victim of abuse? No. None of this mattered when a school is trying to cover their own rear end.
We've been paying big bucks to this school and our son has been attending and we have been actively involved for THREE years now, and it meant nothing. I'd like to believe they were concerned for Sam and didn't actually believe we were capable of abuse. But did they have any idea the danger they were putting our family in by throwing us to the wolves of government? The stress they were adding to an already stressed family?
So far social services (who are currently under investigation themselves) has told us "we don't know why we're here" because we are clearly not abusing our son. But we have to go through their system none the less. It's terrible to think a perfectly innocent family who love their children to death, enough to adopt one of them, could be put through the ringer at any one's mere suspicion of abuse. It's not fair.
Meanwhile, Brian and I are panicking. EVERY DAY Sam throws himself around the house, playground, whatever, and gets bruises (which is where we suspect these came from). There is no keeping bruises off the kid, without putting bumper pads on him and freaking out at what is normal active play for a four-year-old boy. Who is protecting perfectly good parents like ourselves when we believe, like a majority of people, that spanking is an acceptable form of discipline when done within safe parameters? A recent survey said 80% of N.C. families spank their children.
We'd like your prayers in this situation. We went in and talked to the teachers and director and explained we were not hitting Sam, and they apologized for calling social services on us, but I feel like we can never trust them again. Because we know we're innocent, Sam is still attending the school.
Are children abused in this country? Every day! Is it terrible? Of course! I don't know what the solution is here, but I sure wish it didn't have to look like this. Because my son needed a spanking in public and I loved him enough to give it to him despite the fear and embarrassment it might cause me, I was tagged in some one's mind as possibly abusive. It couldn't be farther from the truth, but thanks to the media and worldly "studies", I can't possibly be a good parent, or even a smart one, because we choose to spank. It's a SAD day when good, loving parents can't love their kids according to their own beliefs because of the beliefs of a few outside their family.
I truly believe we're right to spank. But it's hard to be the parents our son needs us to be when we have to fear the outside world destroying our family because they disagree with us. I pray God will protect this family and truth will win out.