Child Spanking
by Youmasu J. Siewe, Ph.D, MPH.
Mark
is throwing his usual temper tantrum - Scratching, hitting, biting, spitting,
and screaming—Do you spank him; will that stop his tantrum or just make
matters worse?
Spanking
is one of the most controversial forms of child discipline. Most health and
child development professionals agree that spanking is not effective in
discouraging children’s undesired behaviors and may lead to more aggressive
behavior. Many individuals and
groups still support or encourage spanking as part of a disciplinary approach
for children. In some studies more
than 90% of American families report that they have spanked their child at some
point. According to the National Survey of Early Childhood Health other commonly
used forms of discipline include taking away toys or treats, yelling, using
time out, and giving explanations.
Is spanking the best way to discipline children?
Discipline is a way of teaching children the
restraint and values necessary to become competent and independent adults.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), an effective discipline
system contains three important elements;
A learning environment characterized by positive, supportive
parent-child relationships; A strategy for teaching
and reinforcing positive behaviors; A strategy for decreasing and eliminating
undesired behaviors.
Most parents
reward good behaviors and punish bad behaviors. The American Academy of Family
Physicians (AAFP) recommends rewarding your child’s good behavior with things
like: Praise; An extra bedtime story; Delaying bedtime by a half hour; A
preferred snack ; Points toward a special toy or privilege
Bad behaviors,
on the other hand, can by punished by: Ignoring your child; Sending your child
to time-out ;Verbally reprimanding your child; taking away privileges
Why
spanking is among the least effective forms of discipline.
-
Spanking of children younger that 18 months
increases the chances of physical injury, and the child is unlikely to
understand the connection between the behavior and the punishment.
-
Repeated spanking may cause agitated, aggressive
behavior in the child that may lead to physical problems between parent
and child.
-
Spanking teaches aggressive behavior as a
solution to conflict and has been associated with increased aggression in
children.
-
Spanking and threats of spanking change
parent-child relationships, making discipline more difficult when physical
punishment is no longer an option, such as with adolescents.
-
Spanking is no more effective than other
disciplinary approaches, and reliance on spanking as a disciplinary
approach makes other strategies less effective.
-
A pattern of spanking may be sustained or
increased.
The
American Academy of Pediatricians
strongly discourages any form of striking a child. They recommend that, if
the spanking is spontaneous, parents should calmly explain why they did it, how
angry they felt, and perhaps apologize to the child.
Youmasu J. Siewe, Ph.D., MPH, is State Specialist for
Public Health Education, Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service at OSU in