Want Your Kids to Grow Up Smart, Happy and Rich? Don't Spank Them!
Research indicates relationships between spanking and many undesirable outcomes, including (but not limited to) reduced cognitive ability; and lower educational, occupational and economic achievement. (Kaufman Kantor & Straus)
Naturally, employers and customers seek those who can problem-solve, learn, reason and negotiate. But children cannot learn while experiencing pain, fear or anger. Research on the effects of stress ((Selye; others) proves that when a person experiences pain, fear or anger, the body automatically responds to the threat with a fight or flight response. This automatic response prepares us well to fight or flee, but it halts learning and problem-solving because blood is rerouted from the learning areas of the brain to the muscles. The cerebral cortex shuts down.
Science continues to affirm the case against spanking:
"Researchers at Columbia University looked at 88 corporal punishment studies and found a definite connection between spanking and 10 negative outcomes, including damaged parent-child relationships, increased potential for aggression, lying, cheating, bullying and depression, as well as a greater chance that the spanked child will physically abuse his or her own children.'
Research has consistently shown that the number one predictor of violent behavior is whether someone comes from a home where violence is practiced, including a home where children are subjected to physical punishment.
Yet the studies and polls (1 2 3) I found indicate that as many as 94 percent of parents smack their kids in an attempt to teach them right from wrong.
As a non-spanked child and a non-spanking parent, I am (proudly) a minority.
If parents understood the risks they expose kids to when they spank, I am hopeful most would stop. A reduction in corporal punishment could have major benefits for children and society:
“A society with little or no hitting of children is likely to result in fewer people who are alienated, depressed, or suicidal, and in fewer violent marriages. The potential benefits for the society as a whole are equally great. These include lower crime rates, especially for violent crimes; increased economic productivity; and less money spent on controlling or treating crime and mental illness... A society that brings up children by caring, humane, and non-violent methods is likely to be less violent, healthier, and wealthier.”
Dr. Straus, founder and co-director of the Family Research Lab at the University of New Hampshire and author of Beating the Devil Out of Them: Corporal Punishment in American Children
As a professional dog trainer and behavior consultant, I learned firsthand that physical punishment is less effective than positive reinforcement and other "hands-off" forms of discipline. Numerous studies with both animals and children back up my personal experiences.
Knowing what not to do is a great first step. If you want to raise a smarter, happier and richer child, check out the following resources to learn effective spanking-free discipline alternatives:
Books:- Positive Discipline
- Parenting for a Peaceful World
- Unconditional Parenting: Moving from Rewards and Punishments to Love and Reason
- Discipline Without Distress: 135 tools for raising caring, responsible children without time-out, spanking, punishment or bribery
- The Natural Child: Parenting from the Heart
- Discipline 101: Strategies That Work
- 22 Alternatives to Losing It
- Instead of Hitting
- Twenty Alternatives to Punishment
- Positive Discipline; How to avoid power struggles
- What every parent should know
- Christians for nonviolent parenting
- Parenting Without Punishing
- Facing down a drill sergeant dad
- 9 Things to do Instead of Spanking
- Alternatives to Spanking
- Plain Talk About Spanking
- Parenting Wisely: What to do instead of punishment
Relevant Post on My Site:
Parenting With Purpose: This I Believe...
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