Well, up to a point, but it’s not the bugaboo that many people make of it.
Young children spanked by their parents may grow up to be happier and more successful than those who have never been hit, a study has found.
According to the research, children spanked up to the age of 6 were likely as teenagers to perform better at school and were more likely to carry out volunteer work and to want to go to college than their peers who had never been physically disciplined.
But children who continued to be spanked into adolescence showed clear behavioral problems.
I don’t think it’s so much the actual spanking that does it, but it’s more the willingness on the part of parents to set limits on children not ready for complete freedom. And at the other end of the spectrum, some parents have a hammer and consider everything a nail, all the way into adolescence. The study’s author explains:
Children’s groups and lawmakers in the UK have tried several times to have physical chastisement by parents outlawed, the Times of London reported. They claim it is a form of abuse that causes long-term harm to children and say banning it would send a clear signal that violence is unacceptable.
However, Marjorie Gunnoe, professor of psychology at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, said her study showed there was insufficient evidence to deny parents the freedom to choose how they discipline their children.
“The claims made for not spanking children fail to hold up. They are not consistent with the data,†said Gunnoe. “I think of spanking as a dangerous tool, but there are times when there is a job big enough for a dangerous tool. You just don’t use it for all your jobs.â€
When the government tries to step in and take the role of the parent, it can make the same mistakes as some parents can, but on a much larger scale. "All discipline is local", to mangle a Tip O’Neil catch phrase.
Doug Payton blogs at Considerettes.
16 users commented in " Spank Your Kids, Make Them Happy "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackThe vast majority of professionals agree that child buttock-battering isn’t healthy. A marginal few (mostly religious fundamentalists as those at Calvin) think that child bottom-slapping is good. They use the same selective literalist interpretation of the Bible as was used to justify “witch”-burning, depraved torture methods for those accused of sin and heresy, slavery, racism, wife-beating, oppression of women and a host of other social ills.
Child buttock-battering vs. DISCIPLINE:
Child buttock-battering (euphemistically labeled “spanking”,”swatting”,”switching”,”smacking”, “paddling”,or other cute-sounding names) for the purpose of gaining compliance is nothing more than an inherited bad habit.
Its a good idea for people to take a look at what they are doing, and learn how to DISCIPLINE instead of hit.
I think the reason why television shows like “Supernanny” and “Dr. Phil” are so popular is because that is precisely what many (not all) people are trying to do.
There are several reasons why child bottom-slapping isn’t a good idea. Here are some good, quick reads recommended by professionals:
Plain Talk About Spanking
by Jordan Riak,
The Sexual Dangers of Spanking Children
by Tom Johnson,
NO VITAL ORGANS THERE, So They Say
by Lesli Taylor M.D. and Adah Maurer Ph.D.
Most compelling of all reasons to abandon this worst of all bad habits is the fact that buttock-battering can be unintentional sexual abuse for some children. There is an abundance of educational resources, testimony, documentation, etc available on the subject that can easily be found by doing a little research with the recommended reads-visit http://www.nospank.net.
Just a handful of those helping to raise awareness of why child bottom-slapping isn’t a good idea:
American Academy of Pediatrics,
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry,
Center For Effective Discipline,
Churches’ Network For Non-Violence,
Nobel Peace Prize recipient Archbishop Desmond Tutu,
Parenting In Jesus’ Footsteps,
Global Initiative To End All Corporal Punishment of Children,
United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
In 26 countries, child corporal punishment is prohibited by law (with more in process). In fact, the US was the only UN member that did not ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
And yet the kids turn out just fine, with the study showing they are actually better adjusted.. Methinks much of this, especially the sexual connection, is knee-jerk reaction to what is perceived as “violence”.
Spanking, just like any other tool, can be abused; no doubt about it. A tool that can be used for DISCIPLINE. They are not mutually exclusive.
I’m sorry PDeverit, but while your children are running around in a parking lot about to be hit by a bus, I’m going to be spanking mine on the bottom to teach them to look out for vehicles or they may die. I also feel there is a big difference between burning an alleged witch at the stake compared to spanking a child on the bottom. No christian ever believed that “sparing the rod, spoil the child,” means to burn someone alive. I was spanked as a child and I hardly even think about the spanking, but I did learn not to lie. Go spin your drama queen liberal reflex on a bunch of bleeding hearts somewhere else.
The results of this study are asinine!!!!
I am now in my 40’s and was spanked as a child. I can tell you first hand how this has screwed up my emotions and my outlook on life. I now have depression issues that I deal with using therapy and occationally drugs (legal drugs… ex Zoloft) I have adjusted, but it’s not easy.
As for my own kids, I have vowed to break the cycle. (Where kids who were spanked will spank their kids when they grow up.) I have never spanked my kids (ages 8 and 6) and both are polite, well behaved and loved.
As for Kat… The next time your kid runs out in the street, he won’t be looking for vehicles… he’s going to be looking for you to make sure that you are not looking. Think about it… now your kid has two things to look out for when he wants to cross the street.
bwr – grow a backbone. It will serve your kids well. Maybe your parents did not spank you the right way. There is a difference between a beating and a spanking. Like Doug said, it is a good tool if used correctly. No mark is ever left on my kids. They know I hate to spank them, but it is for their own good. It’s also only after they have repeated bad behavior that spanking is used by me. I am also smart enough to use other forms of punishment when it is more appropriate. Like time out, or extra chores. I would never make my children skip a meal, because that would be unhealthy. I too, have depression issues, but it’s because I was sexually abused as a child. I wish someone had lovingly spanked my sexual abuser.
I only got 3 spankings in my life time. If thats what you can call them. My dad always gave me 3 swats; no more. You could see that it bothered him to have to discipline one of us children. Never did I feel abused. I was the only girl and had 4 brothers. I was spoiled rotten with love and disciplined correctly. I believe it depends on the child. There are some children that you can say no to and they just do not do it. Then there are some that do everything in the world to refuse to listen. I believe it starts from birth. We all think everything our small children do is so funny. The only thing I have found with that as a mom of 4 is if you do not want your children doing it do not let it start. Turn your heads and laugh but talk sternly to let them know it is unacceptable behavior. A small swat on the butt is not going to harm your child. When they become adolescents I found taking away their computers, cell phone, home phone priviledges, but not without a lecture until I felt I was tired of talking. My oldest daughter was so tired of me lecturing her that she said to me ” could you just spank me and be done with it” . My reply to her was ” no that would be too easy and I want you too completely understand what you have done and why it wrong”. You have to establish boundaries at an early age and teach your child that bad behavior comes with consequences.
No child should be popped excessively and it should be used as a last resort, but if you have to use spanking as discipline make sure it is on the butt nowhere else.
Racists, who largely inherit their ideas, often take offense at being called what they are, enlisting feeble rationalizations in their defense. The same is true of violent people. No amount of academic findings changes the fact that spanking is violence. People who spank are violent people. And violent people always get a kick out of it. Yes, even the good people who hate violence, and only do it because they feel it’s necessary. It’s a release of tension, and no matter what else they are feeling at the same time, somewhere inside, that release always feels good.
So next time you are spanking your child, take a hard look at what you are actually feeling. Obviously you’re THINKING it’s for their own good. But what are you FEELING? In the deepest reaches, beyond your conscience, you’re enjoying yourself.
Dearest James: What I am FEELING is that I don’t want my child to grow up to be ignorant. I am THINKING it is for their own good and I am RIGHT. I do NOT enjoy it. I hate it as a matter of fact, but I would hate it even more for my children to grow up homeless, lonely, and lost. I am not racist, but you are a butt kissing follower who can’t make his own decisions much less decipher reality from what is actually just the latest popular behavioral trend going in America today!!! If Obama said it was okay you would start spanking the first child you saw for no good reason at all.
Dearest Kat: You’re kidding yourself. No matter how much it hurts you, if some part of you didn’t also find the act satisfying, you wouldn’t do it.
@Kat….a bit harsh with the butt kissing comment, but agreeable nonetheless.
@James. Come on dude….get real. Saying every parent who spanks their child is violent is like saying everybody on the West Coast has an IQ 59% lower than the East Coast. An utterly ridiculous statement and not even close to carrying any real truth. However, I fear you are struggling with something that you condemn publicly but enjoy secretly? Are you a parent? Thought not. Otherwise you’d understand the absolute heartbreak you endure everytime you disciplne your children….
“If Obama said it was okay you would start spanking the first child you saw for no good reason at all.”
Actually, Kat and others who believe the fallacy that liberals don’t hit their children, Michelle Obama has admitted to striking her own children:
Michelle Obama “attempted to spank her children on a few rare occasions, but found that it “didn’t work.” Instead, she says that “lots of lectures” are the best way for her children to understand what she wants from them.http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2405050/posts
As for the Gunnoe study, it is not even completed!
“One of those new population studies underway is called Portraits of American Life. It involves interviews of 2,600 people and their adolescent children every three years for the next 20 years. Dr. Marjorie Gunnoe is working with the first wave of data on the teens.”http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/nurtureshock/archive/2009/12/30/never-been-spanked.aspx
A thoroughly completed study by Maury Strauss shows that statistically, children with whom corporal punishment is administered, their IQ is lower than those with whom are not physically assaulted.
Spanking is good when done by a loving person who does not use it.
Are you serious? Did you read the article? These permissive parents who are their child’s best friend are completely blind to the fact that their children are unbearable. Those who do not lovingly spank the child as a last resort find themselves with children who are spoiled and selfish. They go out into the real world and realize that there really are consequences for poor behavior. Come on guys. This is common sense. I spank my children occasionally. They know their limits, they are likeable children who know their place in the world. Looking for justice and Kat….you are absolutely right, “drama queen liberal reflex on a bunch of bleeding hearts” hit the nail on the head.
I am amazed how political the act of spanking has become. I am a far left liberal, yet feel it is necessary to spank my child every now and then when trying everything else does not work.
James.. You are ridiculous. People that SPANK (not BEAT) their kids are violent? As another poster pointed out, you are obviously not a parent, or living in reality for that matter.
I have two sons who are very different people, and had to be disciplined differently. I was spanked right up into my teens, as was my husband, and I was adamant that I would not spank my children.
My responded well to verbal corrections, time-outs, etc. – even to nonverbal (a look) when in public. His brother (TEN years younger, so raised in a totally different time frame) was completely the opposite! Having successfully raised a child to the age of 10 without spanking, I thought I had this discipline thing all figured out – but I was VERY wrong! This child did not notice verbal corrections, he didn’t respond to time-outs, taking away toys, removing him from situations, discussions, lectures – NOTHING worked. Finally, I absolutely had to get his attention, so I tapped his diapered butt – just once, and just enough to make him sway on his feet. He stopped screaming, looked me right in the eye, and actually listened when I told him what he needed to do. I honestly believe I never abused him, but I did resort to this attention-getter when I had to, and it continued to work until we could teach him to understand less forceful means of communication. He had to be TAUGHT to interpret facial expressions and tones of voice, for some reason he did not instinctively understand them.
The truly intriguing part of the whole situation is that the older child who was not spanked had problems with severe depression as a teenager. The younger one who was spanked is a happy, well-adjusted and likeable young man. Both are highly intelligent, with measured IQs at the high end of the scale.
I cannot make any global statement that spanking is right or wrong – I have to believe that discipline must be fit to the child. They are NOT all the same! The only thing that can truly be said of all children is that they need to be loved and they need to be nurtured in ways that work for them as individuals.
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