The Straight Dope on Spanking

Corporal punishment as a method for correcting child behaviour is a discredited and damaging practice. Children deserve to be protected from physical assault.

"When someone says, I was spanked and I'm OK, he or she is arguing that spanking does no harm. This is contrary to almost all the available research...Most of the harmful effects do not become visible right away, often not for years...In the case of smoking, the research shows that a third of very heavy smokers die of lung cancer or some other smoking-induced disease. That, of course, means that two-thirds of heavy smokers do not die of these diseases. So most heavy smokers can say, I've smoked more than a pack a day for 30 years and I'm OK. Similarly, most people who were spanked can say, My parents spanked me, and I'm not a wife beater or depressed." (Straus and Donnelly)

Countries that have abolished corporal punishment of children:
Liechtenstein (2008)
Luxembourg (2008)
Republic of Moldova (2008)
Costa Rica (2008)
Spain (2007)
Venezuela (2007)
Uruguay (2007)
Portugal (2007)
New Zealand (2007)
Netherlands (2007)
Greece (2006)
Hungary (2005)
Romania (2004)
Ukraine (2004)
Iceland (2003)
Germany (2000)
Israel (2000)
Bulgaria (2000)
Croatia (1999)
Latvia (1998)
Denmark (1997)
Cyprus (1994)
Austria (1989)
Norway (1987)
Finland (1983)
Sweden (1979)


References:

Berline, Lisa J., Patrick S. Malone, Catherine Ayoub, Jean M. Ispa, Mark A. Fine, Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, Christy Brady-Smith, and Yu Bai. "Correlates and Consequences of Spanking and Verbal Punishment for Low-Income White, African American, and Mexican American Toddlers." Child Development 80.5 (2009): 1403-420.

Campbell, Debbie. "About Discipline and Punishment." Ed. Michelle Clarke. Policies for Children in the `90s: A Canadian Series (1989).

Straus, Murray A., and Denise A. Donnelly. Beating the Devil out of Them: Corporal Punishment in American Families. New York: Lexington, 1994.

Taylor, Catherine A., Jennifer A. Manganello, Shawna J. Lee, and Janet C. Rice. "Mothers' Spanking of 3-Year-Old Children and Subsequent Risk of Children's Aggressive Behavior." Pediatrics 125.5 (2010): 1057-065.

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[AnnaliseJonas1]

STUPID! I was and still am spanked by my adopted fathers and i will tell you now that even though i am 13 spanking IS effective! I dont disrespect, talk back, disobey, or do ANYTHING I know that'll get me a trip over my fathers' knees! And if i do ANYTHING like get a bf or vandelize or even sneek out I get a belt, a hairbrush or a paddle maybe even a strap but the only harm is a blistered backside because they know i wont do it again so spanking DOES NOT cause any harmful effects & IS effective!

[straightd0pe]

@AnnaliseJonas1 If you don't do anything wrong why are you still getting spanked?

[rnalithe00]

Boy, people sure are dumb, particularly on this issue. You can cite statistics and scientific studies all day to these people showing the uselessness and ill effects of corporal punishment, and they still say "Nope! You need to spank your kids or theyll turn into criminals! I got spanked and I turned out just fine." Apparently you DIDN'T turn out "just fine" if you're still that much of an idiot.

[NateTalksToYou]

@HOAX900 nope

[HOAX900]

@AnnaliseJonas1 getting a boyfriend is worth a spank? right..am I I the only one finding something wrong with this?

[bluegreen1138]

exactly 

[GnosticAtheist]

@GnosticAtheist cont

Remember that the same applies to your problem. CP may not be the reason of our low crime just as the lack of CP may not be the reason of your crime.

Thank you (on my English skill level). I have higher education and text material was in English and German. Also, we did not have dubbed movies or cartoons during my childhood, and all my interests where linked to foreign media.

[GnosticAtheist]

@raphael44ify Yes, I agree that other factors obviously is a factor, a major factor depending on the specific issue. It is important to note that all Scandinavian countries have the same sociological system and morality, with more or less the same end result. You are correct hovewer, I cannot claim direct correlation.

The 2011 riot is a problematic example, as it is a venting factor due to legal specifics and a response to (percieved) injustice over decades.

cont

[raphael44ify]

@GnosticAtheist I THOUGHT it was! Or at least Scandinavia lol! I'm from the UK. I'm not sure whether your low crime rate is down to the absence of CP - there are probably a lot of societal factors - and countries vary hugely from each other. There is a lot of youth crime here (e,g, 2011 riots). Many parents are irresponsible, they set a bad example, they don't care, they're not there,etc. Even ones that are not like that don't dare punish their kids. BTW,your English is fantastic

[GnosticAtheist]

@raphael44ify May I ask what contry that is? I am from Norway.

[raphael44ify]

@GnosticAtheist (cont) > Parents' authority over children in most of the Western world is already at an all-time low, and this would be just another nail in the coffin. This is to the detriment of the kids themselves. I also come from a country with no death penalty and few lifers, but crime here is high. Most parents don't smack their kids here. It's to do with love, constancy and leading by example. Corporal punishment is rarely needed, but it should be there as a last resort.

[raphael44ify]

@GnosticAtheist I agree with you that less violence during childhood results in less crime. I think where we disagree, is what constitutes violence. You say that all corporal punishment, however mild, is violent. I think this does the victims of real violence a disservice. Punching, kicking, hitting with implements are abuse. If a child is injured, it's abuse. Smacking on the bottom with the hand, as long as it's deserved, is not. I don't think that should be banned. (cont)

[GnosticAtheist]

@flatface420fb By cognitive abilities. I have seen both methods several times, and I am old enough now to see the results. Those that had stabile, cognitive relationships with their parents became stabile, cognitive people. Those that did not leave emotionally charges, capped comments on youtube.