Spanking, studies show it does more harm than good

[Carpe Serpentis]

"Many studies have shown that physical punishment — including spanking, hitting and other means of causing pain — can lead to increased aggression, antisocial behavior, physical injury and mental health problems for children. Americans’ acceptance of physical punishment has declined since the 1960s, yet surveys show that two-thirds of Americans still approve of parents spanking their kids."

"Evidence of harm
On the international front, physical discipline is increasingly being viewed as a violation of children’s human rights. The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child issued a directive in 2006 calling physical punishment “legalized violence against children” that should be eliminated in all settings through “legislative, administrative, social and educational measures.” The treaty that established the committee has been supported by 192 countries, with only the United States and Somalia failing to ratify it.

"Around the world, 30 countries have banned physical punishment of children in all settings, including the home. The legal bans typically have been used as public education tools, rather than attempts to criminalize behavior by parents who spank their children, says Elizabeth Gershoff, PhD, a leading researcher on physical punishment at the University of Texas at Austin.

“Physical punishment doesn’t work to get kids to comply, so parents think they have to keep escalating it. That is why it is so dangerous,” she says."

http://www.apa.org/monitor/2012/04/spanking.aspx

 

[AliCat37]

I completely, wholly, 100% disagree with this. I turned out just fine and I was spanked or slapped as a kid when I did something wrong. I'm 22 now and I rarely even curse because the first time I did I got spanked, I am a straight A student my whole life, and don't participate in negative behaviors like drugs, smoking, or drinking to the point of beig drunk. I whole heartedly believe that I turned out well because I was brought up right, with punishment where it was needed and encouragement and praise where it was deserved.

I believe, based on what I see today, kids that are out there shooting cars, killing small animals, disobeying their parents, etc are a result of TV parents and lazy human parents. Far too many children are left to their own devices now, without proper parenting. I can't believe the amount of times I go to wal mart and see children screaming and shouting because they want something- and the parents give it to them!!! WTH? Positive reinforcement for a negative behavior breeds more negative behavior. Of course now if parents were to actually step up and slap their kids, some one would call the cops!! Heck, even children will call the police now if they get spanked! It's ridiculous. A good spanking when needed is not going to harm the child. Now I'm not talking belts and beating, but a spanking yes.

Sorry, this is one of those subjects that really irks me, and I have to question their sample base. The information can so easily be skewed.

 

[bitsy]

Think it depends on the parent. I occasionally got a short smack, but my father completely lost it with my younger brother on a couple of occasions and beat him to the point where he had to be kept off school in order to avoid questions about the bruises.

So a short sharp smack might be effective, but if a parent has a defective "off" switch, it's just a warm-up. And you only find out about the defective off-switch once it's too late. And if the perpetrator won't acknowledge it or do anything to stop themselves, then there's a problem.

I have to say that in my case, what smacking achieved was making sure I could be naughty without getting smacked. It didn't stop me doing the wrong thing, it just made me more manipulative and conniving.

 

[WestCoast_Redneck]

I completely agree with AliCat. I too was spanked as a kid, and can remember the 'wooden spoon' quite well. It taught me discipline. I was petrified as a kid of the wooden spoon and I NEVER spoke to my parents with disrespect.....ever. My parents didn't threaten me or yell at me, but if I was out of line, I got a smack with the wooden spoon. I was a wild child, but always incredibly respectful to my parents and all adults. Thank god my parents realized I needed to expel my energy, and I was given sports as my outlets. I was an athlete my entire life and I truly believe that's what kids need. They need to burn energy, they need the discipline from sports, the friendships from teammates, the encouragement from participation and the joy from accomplishment.
I'm 28, a University Student obtaining my Masters in Social Work and I have 3 incredible kids. I do NOT hit my kids, because it's illegal and also because I don't think I need to follow the same form of punishment that I had, just because that's what I know. I am fully capable of making my own choices and raising my kids how I feel is appropriate. To be honest, my kids don't need to be spanked. They are respectful, they listen, they learn. IF this was not the case, things may be different and maybe I would consider different forms of punishment.
I talk to my kids, I tell them the truth about consequences. I tell them I can only guide them in life, but ultimately it's up to them to develop into adults and who they are as a person.
It's up to them to succeed or not to succeed. I can give them guidance, assistance and motivation.....but the rest is up to them.
Raising children takes participation. Sounds obvious but too many parents are 'too busy' with life ( Not too busy to have kids, though) and find that electronics are perfectly appropriate babysitters. I see so many kids glued to TV, video games, phones, ipods, etc.
I tell my kids to be kids. If it's not downpouring, they are kicked outside to play and hang out with friends. They all participate in sports, and community events. They go to their grandparents to visit and help with whatever needs to be done. At 13, 12 and 8- my kids are popular at school, but I spend time with them. We have baking days, and instead of dropping them off at the pool with friends...I go to the pool with them. We go to the school and kick the ball around.

I think spanking is the least of parenting problems. The only thing that's doing 'harm' to these young generations is the lack of parental involvement.

 

[Lyion]

I agree with Bitsy. I think spanking can be used correctly, but I think that it's hard. Plenty of people spank out of frustration as well, or as a first resort. I was spanked, and although I have social phobia, I turned out well. My phobia has been a real harm to my life. Alot of parents spank without explaining to their children why. As for me, I've only been spanked around 4 times. The counting to three trick always works like a charm.

I'm against spanking, because I don't think it works most of the time. I don't want to be anything to my future children other than a protecting figure.

 

[Outcast]

Wow, didn't realize so many people would agree with what I have been trying to get through your thick skull Carpe...

 

[Outcast]

That same article.... again....

Research findings
As in many areas of science, some researchers disagree about the validity of the studies on physical punishment. Robert Larzelere, PhD, an Oklahoma State University professor who studies parental discipline, was a member of the APA task force who issued his own minority report because he disagreed with the scientific basis of the task force recommendations. While he agrees that parents should reduce their use of physical punishment, he says most of the cited studies are correlational and don’t show a causal link between physical punishment and long-term negative effects for children.

“The studies do not discriminate well between non-abusive and overly severe types of corporal punishment,” Larzelere says. “You get worse outcomes from corporal punishment than from alternative disciplinary techniques only when it is used more severely or as the primary discipline tactic.”

In a meta-analysis of 26 studies, Larzelere and a colleague found that an approach they described as “conditional spanking” led to greater reductions in child defiance or anti-social behavior than 10 of 13 alternative discipline techniques, including reasoning, removal of privileges and time out (Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 2005). Larzelere defines conditional spanking as a disciplinary technique for 2- to 6-year-old children in which parents use two open-handed swats on the buttocks only after the child has defied milder discipline such as time out.

Gershoff says all of the studies on physical punishment have some shortcomings. “Unfortunately, all research on parent discipline is going to be correlational because we can’t randomly assign kids to parents for an experiment. But I don’t think we have to disregard all research that has been done,” she says. “I can just about count on one hand the studies that have found anything positive about physical punishment and hundreds that have been negative.”

Look I can do it too...

 

[Carpe Serpentis]

http://psychcentral.com/news/2008/02...lems/1990.html

A meta-analysis of spanking studies found 93 percent agreement among studies that spanking can lead to such problems as delinquent and anti-social behavior in childhood along with aggression, criminal and anti-social behavior and spousal or child abuse as an adult.

The researchers suggested that children whose parents spanked, slapped, hit or threw objects at them may have a greater chance of physically or verbally coercing a sexual partner, engaging in risky sexual behavior or engaging in masochistic sex, including sexual arousal by spanking. The researchers warned, however, that this is not a one-to-one or causal relationship.

The study also found that 90 percent of U.S. parents spank toddlers.

After 30 years of studying corporal punishment, Murray Straus, a spanking expert, concluded, “parents should never, ever spank because, although it does work, it’s no better than non-hitting methods that don’t have harmful side effects. If there was an FDA for spanking, they’d say use an alternative that doesn’t have harmful side effects.”

Were dealing with meta-analysis of many studies covering a span of 60-80 years. Its not so simply dismissed. At least not by the experts.

 

[Outcast]

The link is broken.

 

[Rich Z]

Well, I think the simple solution to an answer would be to generate a graph showing the prevalence of physical punishment correlated with the general violence of society. If spanking creates more violent and maladjusted individuals, then one would think that society in general would get to be more violent and maladjusted. Conversely, withholding such punishment would then, theoretically produce a less violent and less maladjusted society as a whole.

Agreed?

So, was spanking more or less prevalent in the past? Was society in general more or less violent in the past? Is spanking more or less prevalent today? How is society in general today? More or less violent?

Look at the facts, not what "experts" say SHOULD be the facts.

 

[diamondlil]

Meta-analysis tends to be fuzzy science at best, showing possible correlations rather than proving causation.
The only possible way to campare spanking to not spanking with any accuracy would be identical twins raised in the same environment, with the same belief systems, but with one twin spanked and the other not. Possibly compare 500 or so sets of such twins, it's just not going to happen!

 

[boricua00735]

I dont think u were spanked enough carpe shows the whole not knowing when to quit lol. I wonder if we can do a study on that. If my mom wouldnt have disciplined me god knows how i wold have turned out. I will say i deserved my butt whoopins when recieved and they made me the man i am today. Not to mention grounding was noy effective since id sleep off my punishment. I turned out fine i graduated high school witg a 4.38 gpa never opened a book to study played sports and did everything a nornal kid would do. I never feared my parents but i did learn to respect them!

 

[anerybree]

I was never spanked, but I'm a volunteering, respectable, A-student. I think it depends on the kid, the parent, and how often.

 

[MysticExotics]

I completely, wholly, 100% disagree with this. I turned out just fine and I was spanked or slapped as a kid when I did something wrong. I'm 22 now and I rarely even curse because the first time I did I got spanked, I am a straight A student my whole life, and don't participate in negative behaviors like drugs, smoking, or drinking to the point of beig drunk. I whole heartedly believe that I turned out well because I was brought up right, with punishment where it was needed and encouragement and praise where it was deserved.

I believe, based on what I see today, kids that are out there shooting cars, killing small animals, disobeying their parents, etc are a result of TV parents and lazy human parents. Far too many children are left to their own devices now, without proper parenting. I can't believe the amount of times I go to wal mart and see children screaming and shouting because they want something- and the parents give it to them!!! WTH? Positive reinforcement for a negative behavior breeds more negative behavior. Of course now if parents were to actually step up and slap their kids, some one would call the cops!! Heck, even children will call the police now if they get spanked! It's ridiculous. A good spanking when needed is not going to harm the child. Now I'm not talking belts and beating, but a spanking yes.

Sorry, this is one of those subjects that really irks me, and I have to question their sample base. The information can so easily be skewed.

I agree 100% with this!
Now days, a lot parents are afraid to spenk their kids, because someone will scream abuse. Look at how kids are turning out. Look at how many juveniles are commiting crimes. I'm not talking petty crimes, I'm talking about the big stuff, armed robbery, assault with a deadly weapon. In my job, I see it ALL the time. This was not the case back when I was growing up. Why? Many kids were spanked back then.

I dont think u were spanked enough carpe shows the whole not knowing when to quit lol. I wonder if we can do a study on that. If my mom wouldnt have disciplined me god knows how i wold have turned out. I will say i deserved my butt whoopins when recieved and they made me the man i am today. Not to mention grounding was noy effective since id sleep off my punishment. I turned out fine i graduated high school witg a 4.38 gpa never opened a book to study played sports and did everything a nornal kid would do. I never feared my parents but i did learn to respect them!

I was a first born, strong willed kid. I definitely deserved the spankings I got.
I respected my parents, I did not fear them. (Growing up, it was my step-dad, since my parents divorced when I was three.)

I was never spanked, but I'm a volunteering, respectable, A-student. I think it depends on the kid, the parent, and how often.

Not all kids need it, but a number of them do.

This is all I'm going to say on this, because clearly, Carp is trying to start yet another debate, yet all he does is regurgitate information he finds on the internet.

I wonder how long before he turns this thread into a hybrid topic.

 

[TwinBlades]

I don't believe spanking as a from of discipline is a bad thing, and there is a difference between spanking and beating. being kid number 3 out of five, I never had to get a spanking, I saw my older siblings get it and didn't do whatever was stupid enough to make mom that mad. and my sibs never did it twice. in my family, you knew ahead of time what was a spanking offense, these were usually things like- lying, hurting a sibling or pet intentionally, or disobeying an adult when there was danger.
we are old fashioned and both my parents are ex-military, but all 5 of us turned out pretty well, no adolescent jailbirds or adult criminals came from us being spanked when we did something that was wrong. we're not damaged or unloved, and I know either of my parents would have taken a bullet for me when I was a kid. now of course they expect me to shoot back

 

[BlackBear123]

I would never hit a dog, so why would I physically harm something that was even more defenseless and looked to me for love an guidance?

That being said, I don't have kids, and my feels may change, but I doubt it. Corporal punishment in the form of a quick swat may serve its purpose when the child is doing something that puts it in immediate danger, such as touching a stove. But for talking back? Throwing a tantrum? There are way more effective and less detrimental methods to teach kids how to be respectful than using positive punishment. Especially for very young children. By the time parents feel the need to hit the kid, tensions are usually pretty high. Is that really the time to be dueling out pain? Kids may not understand that what they did is the problem, but rather that mom and dad are scary and bring pain.

I was also a strong willed first child. I was spanked when I was very young, but what really worked was using negative punishment. I knew that if I talked back, I didn't get to watch Full House with the family that night. No physical pain necessary. The key is sticking to the punishment.

Even though I don't plan to spank my own kids unless they are in immediate danger, I also understand that each set of parents does what they feel is best for their child. If I see a parent swat a kid on the butt for talking back, I don't feel any room or need to judge.

 

[Outcast]

Even though I don't plan to spank my own kids unless they are in immediate danger, I also understand that each set of parents does what they feel is best for their child. If I see a parent swat a kid on the butt for talking back, I don't feel any room or need to judge.

I wish more people were like you.

 

[BlackBear123]

Haha, I will judge however, if your child is running all over the restaurant and sneezes in my food (I actually had that happen:licklips.

 

[TwinBlades]

my parents never spanked us when we were little, and you knew and understood why you were getting a spanking when we got older. none of this random out of the blue crap, you KNEW so you didnt do it again. spankings don't work if the kid doesn't have a clue what he did, only when he understands does he learn. and beatings don't work period.

 

[Carpe Serpentis]

If you don't have to beat a horse, a dog, or any other animal to train them... I can't see needing to do that to a child. I'm proud that I have managed to raise very respectful kids who are also civic minded without ever raising a hand to them or spanking them. In my mind, studies aside, teaching children that they can get what they want by using force just isn't right. But, if we are to include studies... the evidence that spanking can and does frequently do more harm than good simply doesn't warrant it. Now, if the child is about to do something that is about to result in death, loss of limb, or eyesight and physical force is the only way I can think of to stop them... then by all means I'd rather use force than have them lose their eyesight, limb, etc. Thankfully, I've never been in that situation.