This blog is not titled, “avoid spanking” for a reason. Would we say, “avoid physical abuse?” Aside from the obvious human right to be free from physical assault, the research on spanking is clear - there are enduring negative outcomes. The American Academy of Pediatrics and many, many other associations unequivocally warn against the use of spanking as a discipline method. Why? There is an avalanche of research showing it is destructive.
Click here to listen to what researchers have to say about spanking:
Spanked children are:
- More likely to use aggression against their peers
- Less likely to internalize rules
- More likely to engage in criminal activity during adolescence
- More likely to engage in domestic abuse as adults
- More likely to suffer from depression, mental illness
- At greater risk for asthma, cancer, and heart disease
Do these outcomes remind you of the ACE Study?
Two key recommendations coming out of the ACE Study are parental resilience and positive discipline. We have an automated ACE CALCULATOR that calculates your ACE Score and generates the risks associated with the score. We are working to educate parents on their ACE Score so that they can understand their risks and lower their child's.
We are beginning to recognize that spanking is correlated to domestic violence in the home. The reason is obvious - spanking is a form of domestic violence.
The American Academy of Pediatrics published a report on the use of physical violence as a form of discipline (aka “spanking”) and its relation to intimate partner violence. The study examined a large sample of close to 2,000 families participating in a nationally representative study of families across the USA. The authors were interested in examining whether the use of spanking in 3 year-old children was associated with physical violence between the parents. Researchers concluded that spanking is co-occurring with aggression and intimate partner violence in families.
The results were not surprising:
- 65% of 3 year-old children were spanked, at least once, by their parents during the previous month.
- The odds of using physical punishment doubled in households where parents used aggression against each other.
- Maternal stress significantly increased the odds of using physical punishment.
- Maternal depression significantly increased the odds of using physical punishment.
- The odds of using physical punishment were not associated with maternal education, but when the father had a college degree both the father and the mother were significantly less likely to use physical punishment.
WHAT CAN WE DO?
The first step is to recognize that spanking is a culturally accepted form of domestic violence. When we are confused about this, when we draw arbitrary lines between acceptable levels of violence and unacceptable levels of violence – we are essentially giving parents permission to strike their children.
We need to educate ourselves as clinicians and helpers. Feel confident that the research supports you in saying “Parents should NEVER spank.” Reach out for support if you need it. There are many resources online that parents can access to find alternatives. Refer to our resource page: http://stopspanking.org/resources/
Connect parents to our StopSpanking Facebook page and our growing community of parenting support forums. Parents should never feel alone. We are here to help!
Comments (3)