Research Confirms Risks of Spanking - So Why Are We Still Doing It?

Spanking is perhaps one of THE most strongly debated parenting issues out there and I can pretty much guarantee that no matter how I approach this subject someone will take offense or feel judged by it.

So, just in case -

Disclaimer:  I am not judging YOU. In fact, my consideration towards the act of judgment is that it results in a shut down of the free-flowing exchange of information and alternatively opens up the gate to tension, polarization and insensitivity. My goal in this post is to offer information that I have gathered – I urge every parent to use this as a catalyst to learn more.

Discipline is one component of proficient parenting and every family (and each parent) has a unique way of teaching what is/is not acceptable conduct.

In the United States, corporal punishment (CP) is used by parents of toddlers roughly 50% of the time as a means of communicating what is/is not tolerable. That number was seen to increase up to 94% when kids reach preschool age.[*][*] 

cor·po·ral pun·ish·ment

           

a form of physical punishment that involves the deliberate infliction of pain as retribution for an offence, or for the purpose of disciplining

**for the research referenced below corporal punishment signifies non-injurious, openhanded hitting with the intention of modifying child behavior

These numbers shouldn’t be all that surprising, after all, us parents learn how to parent from our own parents and in the United States corporal punishment has a strong tradition.[*][*] 

Fortunately, tradition transforms over time as the understanding and knowledge of a society is advanced and broadened. Unfortunately, societal change typically occurs at a much slower rate then the contribution of data is accumulated.[*]

The knowledge base of corporal punishment on children has grown over the last several decades building upon hundreds of research studies in several diverse fields: psychology, medicine, sociology, social work and education.[*]

What does the large majority of research reveal regarding discipline that incorporates CP?

Putting Kids at Greater Risk

The vast amount of data that has been accumulated over all disciplines supports that corporal punishment (physical discipline, spanking) is no more effective than other forms of punishment.  Most importantly, not only it is no more effective but this form of correction exposes the child to added adverse effects.[*][*] 

In an unprecedented degree of consistency, 94% of the 117 tests reviewed in an 88 study meta-analysis confirmed that CP is associated with an increase in harmful side effects (these studies controlled for ‘parental warmth which illustrates that CP is harmful even when it is performed by loving parents): [*][*][*]

Increase in:

Aggression

Delinquency in childhood

Crime (as an adult)

Antisocial behavior

Depression

Anxiety

Physical aggression toward parent(s)

Physical aggression toward dating partner

Sibling rivalry

Vulnerability to stress

Decrease in:

Empathy

Parent-child relationship

Cognitive development/abilities

Scores in educational achievement

Language comprehension

Self-esteem

I understand not every child who is spanked or slapped for discipline purposes will develop all, or any, of the above negative outcomes listed – however, it is abundantly apparent that corporal punishment places a child at risk for both short and long tem negative effects.[*][*]

The Immediate Need to Adjust Behavior in Safety Scenarios

Effective discipline can be analyzed in three time periods: immediate, short-term (hours/days) and long term (months/years).[*]

There remains a consensus that spanking is the most effective means in stopping misbehavior in an immediate need. In fact, this is one of the main listed benefits in using CP.

For example, if your child repeatedly grabs pots off the stove or is baiting his/her luck running into traffic - safety is paramount and if spanking works best, then this might trump any future adverse risk(s) that may or may not come to fruition.

If corporal punishment is effective when other methods fail in this instance, it would debatable to eliminate spanking. However, tremendous evidence exist from short-term prospective studies on this particular issue that show this is not the case.[*] 

This may not be all that surprising, but, when it comes to toddlers, research shows that every mode of discipline has a high short-tem failure rate. This is because it takes a great deal of time and many repetitions for standards in behavior to be internalized.[*][*] 

But when it comes to spanking, at least two other factors interfere with it being the best choice.

1 Interference of Cognitive Function

For a young child, being struck by a parent is a frightening event. The negative emotions felt be young children (sadness, anger, humiliation, shame, fright, stress, etc.) are able to result in cognitive deficits which impede learning and may be one explanation for the elevated failure rate among spanking in the long-term.[*][*] 

2 Absences of Explanation, Strategy, & Resolution in Conflict Situations   

Parents may offer an explanation along with corporal punishment which may reduce adverse effects however, they are not eliminated.[*]

Consider what a child is denied when a parent resorts to spanking as a form of discipline: The opportunity for the child to observe and participate (age-appropriately) in resolution strategies that are important to learn in future life situations are diminished (such as explanation, creating appropriate alternatives, and compromises).[*]

But Why Do Most Parents Think Spanking is More Effective?

Perception

Although the high-failure rate of spanking is observable, few perceive it.[*][*]

Children who were spanked had an increase in misbehavior two years later, whereas children who were not spanked had a decrease in misbehavior.[*][*]

When a child throws a toy at their brother or sister and the parent explains that the behavior will not be tolerated and places them in time out….  the child does it again a few hours later – the ineffectiveness of time-out is attributed to the repetition of behavior.

But if the child is spanked and required to be spanked again it is not perceived as being ineffective – instead, it is indicated that the child merely needs spanked again.

However, the existing literature overwhelming supports the understanding that all methods of discipline, including CP, have a high failure rate in young children.[*] 

It is the consistency and persistence of the discipline used that makes it effective.[*]

Repetition of spanking a child will result in compliance – as will other discipline methods.

The consistency and persistence used by parents that support spanking are precisely right but unfortunately they are applying a method that has increased risk of harmful side effects.

In fact, the majority of studies completed demonstrate that spanking does not have the effects parents intend; rather it has the reverse effect of increasing undesirable behaviors.

Information

Parents may perceive CP as effective, if not more then other discipline methods because they are not informed of the possible long-term effects. (see above)

Now – all methods of discipline are likely to carry side effects; in fact, the end-goal to discipline is behavior modification. However, there are tremendous amounts of evidence illustrating that the side effects associated with spanking is not something a parent would desire. (again, see list above)

This underscores the urgency for professionals that work with parents to advise them of the detrimental consequences coupled with spanking/ hitting a child which is supported by research.[*] 

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) does not endorse spanking under any circumstance. According to the AAP, it is a form of punishment that becomes less effective with repeated use.[*][*]




If a person is more affluent and better educated,

they are less likely to support corporal punishment

in children (Source: 2003 TGI  Brasil)

 

Should There Be a Ban on Spanking?

Using the world as a compass

Beginning with Sweden in 1979, over the last 34 years there has been a total of 33 counties to ban the practice of corporal punishment of children by parents, teachers or any other adult.[*][*][*]

Sweden pioneered the way by using informational campaigns and meetings with parents to inform them of spanking there are other options that are as effective.[*][*]  

The purpose of banning CP is not to put parents in jail. Rather, it is about prevention. It is to encourage attitudes and practices to promote nonviolent methods of child rearing. This hopefully lessens the likelihood of children at greater risk of physical punishment (those who come from a lower socio-economic background, minorities, and those with disabilities).[*][*][*]   

Corporal punishment in homes and schools remains constitutional in the United States. (You can review the State by State comparison here on the laws protecting children for physical punishment)

The countries that have banned corporal punishment did so on the basis of human rights obligations, supported by the very strong research evidence of the potential damage that this type of corrective discipline presents.[*][*]


Conclusion

I do find it ironic that the research illustrating the risks of CP is largely gathered and published in the United States, however the data is informing legal and policy changes in other countries around the world before it has any impact here.[*][*]

There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that every parent is doing the best of their ability with the resources available to them.

I hope the information presented here facilitates just one parent that uses corporal punishment to consider learning more about other means of discipline that may carry less risk to their child(ren). 

"Violence against children, including corporal punishment, is a violation of the rights of the child. It conflicts with the child's human dignity and the right of the child to physical integrity. It also prevents children from reaching their full potential, by putting at risk their right to health, survival and development. The best interests of the child can never be used to justify such practice" [*]

-UN Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, Kyung-wha Kang

Some resources for learning more about effective discipline:

Effective Discipline Techniques for Parents

University of Florida IFAS Extension

Cassandra Deas and Eboni J Baugh

Positive Discipline Techniques

CWLA (Child Welfare League of America)

American Academy of Pediatrics – Guidance for Effective Discipline

Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health

1998

101 Positive Discipline Techniques

Discipline & Punishment

Family Education Network Website  (Pearson Education, Inc.)

Elizabeth O Cooper

Mommy Needs Wine

Mothers who unwind in the evening with a drink or two are definitely not alone.

Shoot, I was one of them. 62 days ago.

My personal reasons for completely abstaining from alcohol stem from my own childhood experiences with a parent who drank, my own addictive tendencies throughout life and a very intense passion inside me to be a better person.

My history with drinking was already sketchy to begin with; resulting in several run-ins with the law and one DUI at the ripe age of 21. Once I got pregnant, obviously, my drinking habits changed (as well as many other questionable habits like smoking and eating horribly).

After having two children fairly close together in time, I found myself free again to join my husband for a few drinks after work while cooking dinner and unwinding from the day.

Seems pretty ordinary, I guess… drinking is basically encouraged for parents (more on that a little later).

But I always found myself the next morning feeling a tinge of guilt. I would think to myself, “I could be a better mother if I just didn’t drink at all…”. What was holding me back? The routine…the effects of relief (both physically and mentally)…the encouragement from other women parading wine as completely acceptable?

I’m not saying that some moms aren’t absolutely fine with drinking 2 or 3 drinks a night. I just knew in my bones that I wasn’t one of them.

Then one day, I had it in me to choose something else other then drink a few glasses of wine. Just a random Thursday. Nothing special. That weekend, I started running and exercising to deal with any stress I had (I now run 5 nights a week).

My husband still drinks and thinks nothing of me choosing not to. I guess I can rack that up to me not having as big of a problem as I thought I might have had. I do imagine if I just went with the flow and waited a few more years, I probably wouldn’t have been able to stop the way I did. You see, the thing about addiction is it’s progressive.

I do find myself now more aware of the marketing toward moms (especially of young kids) and women in general…

Is being a mom so hard that a glass of wine (or two or three) is needed at the end of the day just to feel sane again?

I imagine alcohol producers are betting on it.

Have you heard these slogans yet???

Mommy’s Time Out :

"We All know that being a Mommy is a difficult job. A Mommy's Time Out is a well deserved break."

Mommyjuice :

“Balanced, fruit-forward wines that bring just a bit of peace after the chaos of everyday life as a parent."

What about facebook pages like:

I So Need A Glass Of Wine Or I'm Gonna Sell Kids (over 133,000 likes)

Moms Who Need Wine (over 93,000 likes)

Moms-who-sometimes-need-to-go-out-with-girlfriends-&-drink Secret Society (an open page)

I’m definitely not condemning mothers who drink alcohol in a safe and appropriate manner, but in my experience, when someone says they’re drinking because they need stress relief that should be a red flag.

Drinking to cope with anything (the stresses of motherhood included), in my opinion, is not a skillful way of living a life. Yeah, it’s comical – to a point, and then it just becomes sad.

For some of us, we were simply given the example of damaging ways to cope with life by our parents – and so commences the beautiful masterpiece of life repeating itself.

I think the most powerful catalyst to stop the cycle of any destructive coping mechanism is the motivation to give your children a better parental model than you had growing up– at least that is what has provoked me to make, not just this change, but many changes in just the last 4 years.

How empowering and rewarding is it when you recognize that you are giving something of yourself that you never knew was in there?

I hope these words meet you in a place that sparks that desire in you -

“Don’t worry that children never listen to you;

worry that they are always watching you.”

- Robert Fulghum

Veganism: The Next Step in Moral Evolution

Before becoming vegan myself, there was an idea already in my head of some airy-fairy, mid-twenty new-ager who spoke of horror stories of undercover footage of how factory farm animals were treated or, better yet, someone throwing buckets of blood on people who bought fur coats…all in hopes of converting the uneducated meat-eating masses.

At the beginning, I did NOT decide to stop eating meat/dairy because of the humane aspect. In fact, my main reason was for the health benefits (check out The China Study to begin learning more). Although, I was (at least I thought I was) aware of the humane characteristic of the lifestyle –I never planned on shunning a Coach purse made of leather or bother finding out if the cosmetics I was buying was tested on animals or not.

Sure, I felt that the ethics a ‘lifestyle-vegan’ stood for was great and all, but I never thought of ever actually choosing to become one.  

That’s the thing – no one ever thinks they are going to become vegan. You simply do not choose change like that. 

About 8 months into my journey in eliminating meat and dairy, I found I had enough courage to begin to bear witness with my eyes and my ears to what we make approximately 72 billion animals (each year) bear witness to with their bodies and souls.

I purchased Peaceable Kingdom: The Journey Home and it was incredibly honest and incredibly powerful. (If you are wondering, this is NOT one of those documentaries that goes undercover and tries to shock-change people, you can learn more about it here)

Visual images are very powerful to humans. It’s very challenging to grab a rubber erase or a bottle of white out and simply scrap the emotion and reactions felt when witnessing a particularly moving visual scene. I think we all can easily re-call the smoke billowing out from the twin towers from 9/11 or those graphic pictures we where shown in high school history books of bodies piled up during the Holocaust.

People use many reasons to avoid addressing particular humane issues when it comes to the food they eat. People simply have “enough on their plate” as it is and challenging the deepest aspects of a person’s upbringing and education is enormously daunting. Not to mention that we are all pretty much neatly removed from observing any horrors of the meat, dairy and egg industry – just look at all those happy cow commercials, right?

Meat-eating, dairy-loving people truly believe themselves to be kind and compassionate to animals; they love their dog and cats, they give money to the local animal shelter and they even brake for a family of Canadian geese crossing a semi-busy street.

What is the underlying catalyst among those animal-friendly people who become vegan and those who do not?

I’m not sure if it’s because I’m a mother now (there are a tremendous amount of changes I’ve made since being a parent and I’m not sure if this can be attributed to motherhood or not), but the images and knowledge I now have pertaining to the unethical treatment (particularly of dairy cows - and their calves) has damaged me and when I recall the information I feel as sick as I did when I first learn of it.

In a strange turn of events, the one thing I thought I would never be able cease (dairy) is one of the main factors that has solidified me becoming vegan.

Dairy. is. no. longer. appetizing. to. me.

(…not to mention there are great alternatives available).

True, dairy cows aren’t raised solely for the purpose for slaughter…instead, to put it in perspective, their devastating existence is drawn out a few years longer. One dairy cow will give birth to approximately 3-6 calves all whom are immediately taken from her. The female cow will be administered  hormones and a constant stream of antibiotics. The substantially unnatural demand of lactation will deplete calcium from her own bones – the bottom-line: that she will generate enough milk to fill as many half-pint containers for school children to drink each day as possible.

When she finally finds herself free from this “life”, her body will produce 2,000 quarter-pounders to a fast food franchise that will serve 7 billion low-cost happy-meals a year. 

****

I was asked last week by a colleague at work, if I truly believe the future of our diet as a community will not consist of consuming meat and/or dairy products.

I took a minute to consider the question and answer him honestly. The answer that surfaced did not surprised me, however the rationale did.

The answer is no, simply because compassion and reverence for Life is the goal of our human evolution.

Embracing veganism is not a moderate resolution. Instead, it is a dramatic, courageous, positive change the world is destined to experience. 

It takes courage to witness the suffering and cruelty that is being done on our watch. A part of you breaks. From that space, reverence and authenticity emerges.

The feedback I got when I asked my friends how they viewed people who choose not to eat meat/dairy was indifferent.

‘It’s everyone’s choice to eat what they want.’

‘As long as ‘they’ aren’t pushing their beliefs on me, then it’s fine.’

However, one simply does not choose to become vegan so it is impossible to try and ‘convert’ someone.

Becoming vegan is definitely isolating at times and (as with anything challenging within ourselves) it’s easy and more comfortable to focus on judging others – but that’s not what I choose to do.  I hope the people around me don’t think I am judging them or hoping to ‘convert’ them – because I truly understand veganism not to be a choice.

You see, I recognize that the only way to eliminate pain and suffering (by both animal and human) is very simple. Create Love and compassion in this world. This is our contribution and gift back to God (or whatever you choose to call it – the Source, the Divine, Buddha, etc). This Gift is not just a vegan’s gift but every and every one of us - to every creature (human and non-human) and with this we have the power to evolve our human race.

 The quotes provided throughout this post were taken from the book: Eternal Treblinka: Our Treatment of Animals and the Holocaust