See other Health Articles
Title: Spanking Is Ineffective and Harmful to Children, Pediatricians’ Group Says
Source:
[None]
URL Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/05/ ... rmful-study-pediatricians.html
Published: Nov 7, 2018
Author: Christina Caron
Post Date: 2018-11-07 05:28:22 by Tatarewicz
Keywords: None
Views: 528
Comments: 7
NYT...Parents should not spank their children, the American Academy of Pediatrics said on Monday in its most strongly worded policy statement warning against the harmful effects of corporal punishment in the home. The group, which represents about 67,000 doctors, also recommended that pediatricians advise parents against the use of spanking, which it defined as “noninjurious, openhanded hitting with the intention of modifying child behavior,” and said to avoid using nonphysical punishment that is humiliating, scary or threatening. “One of the most important relationships we all have is the relationship between ourselves and our parents, and it makes sense to eliminate or limit fear and violence in that loving relationship,” said Dr. Robert D. Sege, a pediatrician at Tufts Medical Center and the Floating Hospital for Children in Boston, and one of the authors of the statement. The academy’s new policy, which will be published in the December issue of the journal Pediatrics, updates 20-year-old guidance on discipline that recommended parents be “encouraged” not to spank. The organization’s latest statement stems from a body of research that was unavailable two decades ago. Advertisement A 2016 analysis of multiple studies, for example, found that children do not benefit from spanking. “Certainly you can get a child’s attention, but it’s not an effective strategy to teach right from wrong,” Dr. Sege said. Recent studies have also shown that corporal punishment is associated with increased aggression and makes it more likely that children will be defiant in the future. Spanking alone is associated with outcomes similar to those of children who experience physical abuse, the new academy statement says. There are potential ramifications to the brain as well: A 2009 study of 23 young adults who had repeated exposure to harsh corporal punishment found reduced gray matter volume in an area of the prefrontal cortex that is believed to play a crucial role in social cognition. Those exposed to harsh punishment also had a lower performance I.Q. than that of a control group. Although the study was small in scope, it can help provide a biological basis for other observations about corporal punishment, Dr. Sege said. Advertisement So what is the best way to discipline children? That largely depends on the age and temperament of the child, experts say. Effective discipline involves practicing empathy and “understanding how to treat your child in different stages in development to teach them how to cool down when things do get explosive,” said Dr. Vincent J. Palusci, a child abuse pediatrician at Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital at N.Y.U. Langone. The academy’s parenting website, HealthyChildren.org, offers tips for disciplining younger and older children. Rewarding positive behavior, using timeouts and establishing a clear relationship between behavior and consequences can all be effective strategies. “We can’t just take away spanking,” Dr. Palusci said. “We have to give parents something to replace it with.” Advertisement The number of parents who spank their children has been on the decline. A 2013 Harris Poll of 2,286 adults surveyed online found 67 percent of parents said they had spanked their children and 33 percent had not. In 1995, however, 80 percent of parents said they had spanked their children while 19 percent said they had not. Attitudes about spanking are also changing. Although seven in 10 adults in the United States agreed a “good, hard spanking is sometimes necessary to discipline a child,” according to the 2014 General Social Survey, spanking has become less popular over time. In 1970, Fitzhugh Dodson, a clinical psychologist and best-selling author of books on parenting, was quoted in The New York Times as saying that many discipline problems could be solved by using his “pow wow approach.” “It’s my pow, followed by his wow,” he explained, demonstrating how he would swat a child’s bottom. “I know some books say parents shouldn’t spank, but I think it’s a mistake,” he said. “A poor mother is left with nowhere to go. She’s mad at the kid, has had it up to the eyebrows with him, and longs to give him a big smack on the behind, but she’s been told she shouldn’t. She should, and it’s good for her, because it releases her tension. And the child definitely prefers it to long parental harangues.” Advertisement And in the 1945 edition of “Baby and Child Care,” Dr. Benjamin Spock said spanking “is less poisonous than lengthy disapproval, because it clears the air, for parents and child.” (In the ’80s, however, he changed his mind.) Today, most doctors don’t support it. A recent survey of 1,500 pediatricians in the United States found that 74 percent did not approve of spanking and 78 percent thought spanking never or seldom improved children’s behavior. It’s a different situation among legislators and school administrators. Although corporal punishment in public schools is not permitted in 31 states and the District of Columbia, there are 19 states, mainly in the South, that either allow the practice or do not have specific rules prohibiting it. In 2000, the academy recommended that corporal punishment in schools be abolished in all states. And in 2016, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a tool kit for preventing child abuse and neglect that highlighted a need for legislation to end corporal punishment. Advertisement But attempts to do so at the federal level have failed. “I think people see school discipline and parental discipline very differently,” said Elizabeth T. Gershoff, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin who has studied corporal punishment in public schools. Even so, she added, it’s possible the new academy statement could lead to change down the road. “It shows we are seeing the beginning of a shift away from believing it is O.K. to hit children in the name of discipline,” she said. Children “need to know that you have their best interests at heart,” Dr. Gershoff said. “If the kid doesn’t trust the parent, then they’re never going to want to do what they say.” Related Coverage Which Is Better, Rewards or Punishments? Neither Aug. 21, 2018 Image Which Is Better, Rewards or Punishments? Neither The Connections Between Spanking and Aggression June 27, 2016 Image The Connections Between Spanking and Aggression Disabled Students Are Spanked More Poster Comment: Eventually it's even more harmful to the spanking parent because the son or daughter will harbor an innate wariness of the parent. This will develop into a blase indifference which will see the parent going to a nursing home rather being in the much more healthier home of the son's /daughter's family. Spanking most likely the result of parent being too busy to coach child about acceptable behavior.
Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest
#1. To: Tatarewicz (#0)
I am a fan of Old Time Radio. These shows were on before I was born. There was a radio program in the 1940s called "Let George Do It". George Valentine's original ad as read on air said, "I will walk your dog or spank your wife for you, or..." The Truth of 911 Shall Set You Free From The Lie
Spare the rod, spoil the child....
“With the exception of Whites, the rule among the peoples of the world, whether residing in their homelands or settled in Western democracies, is ethnocentrism and moral particularism: they stick together and good means what is good for their ethnic group." “The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out... without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos. Almost inevitably he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane, intolerable.” ~ H. L. Mencken
Is there a difference between a swat or a hold to a toddler? I think swat is less stressful on them. Ever see a mother cat smack down un-ruly kitten? Now that is some parenting. Corporal punishment, spankings generally, are really not effective on children over eight years old unless some redness and bruising are involved. Which is assault unless purely in self defense. Which would be difficult to explain in court unless one had a really good porn lawyer. Words that should never be used together... “I am not one of those weak-spirited, sappy Americans who want to be liked by all the people around them. I don’t care if people hate my guts; I assume most of them do. The important question is whether they are in a position to do anything about it. My affections, being concentrated over a few people, are not spread all over Hell in a vile attempt to placate sulky, worthless shits.” - William S Burroughs
I don't spank, but there certainly are offenses which are dangerous to the child and a more severe punishment is warranted. When I was 7, my mother who I had locked out of her car while playing hide(she had the key but I had the lock knob) and seek, made me wait for my dad to come home to spank me. He came home exhausted from work, wanted a beer, but had to spank me. The agreement was, he spanked until I cried. That day I decided NOT to cry and he ended up beating me. I still would not cry. Spanking never worked again My dad stopped altogether and my mother tried a few times.
The inventive among us can find an expert willing to either hype or condemn just about any danged thing. "Experts" used to think B.F. Skinner was just tits as far as developmental stuff goes. Today we know that he was an asshole. Bible is ancient fiction. Most popular religious choice in America last 25 years is no religion at all. A Canadian church (United) is led by an atheist who says there is no God: Canadian Church Led by Atheist Minister 'Rarely' Reads the Bible, Replaces Lord's Prayer With Secular Mantra By Michael Gryboski , Christian Post Reporter | Oct 6, 2016 A United Church of Canada congregation overseen by an openly atheist minister seldom uses the Bible during worship and has replaced the Lord's Prayer with a nonsectarian affirmation. The Rev. Gretta Vosper, leader of West Hill United Church of Toronto, Ontario, is currently facing the possibility of being defrocked for being an atheist. Vosper has pastored West Hill for several years. Since the year 2000 the church has undergone extensive change, both in what it teaches and in membership numbers. Andrea DiPede, spokesperson for West Hill, told The Christian Post that worship services at her church "have moved away from language that references God in order to create an environment without barriers to participation." (Photo: Scott Kearns)United Church of Canada minister Gretta Vosper. In 2013, Vosper officially came out to her congregation as an atheist. "The services are themed around love, justice, compassion care and responsibility, and living in right relationship with ourselves, with others and with the world," said DiPede. "Music is a very important part of the service and community at West Hill United; songs at West Hill United Church are also themed around these values." DiPede also told CP that at West Hill they "don't recognize the Bible as more authoritative than other sources" and that "some of our members publicly identify as atheists." "We rarely read the Bible in our services, and when we do, we read it alongside other sources of inspiration. We draw from many sources, including novels, journal articles, blogs, poems, nonfiction books, memoirs, videos and music in our services," continued DiPede. Free sign up cp newsletter!
#2. To: Tatarewicz (#0)
-Alex Kurtagic 
#3. To: Tatarewicz (#0)
we should listen to what the Bible says, rather than those whack-jobs
#4. To: Lod, all (#3)
#5. To: Tatarewicz (#0)
#6. To: X-15 (#2)
#7. To: Lod (#3)
(Edited)
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest