spanking paddle[/caption]Marsha Hunt-----Is it true that “spare the road” will “spoil the child.?” The latest research on spanking tells the truth about whether or not corporal punishment actually supports good behavior.
In a study of college students, it was found that those spanked in childhood had higher rates of criminal behavior than those who had not been spanked. Murray Straus, who is the co-director of the University of New Hampshire Family Research Lab, tells us that even those young people whose paarents were otherwise warm and loving but used corporal punishment showed higher rates of criminal behavior.
Straus examined criminality trends and behavior in university students in 15 countries, on nine different measures of criminality. He says, “The results show that spanking is associated with an increase in subsequent misbehavior, which is the opposite of what almost everyone believes. These results are consistent with a large number of high quality peer-reviewed studies.”
The Biblical admonition vs the scientific view of child management is one thing, but what do parents around the world believe and practice?
In the United States 65% of Americans surveyed approve of spanking. But there are regional differences related to it. In the South 62 percent of parents spank their children, while the rest of the country that percentage drops to 41.
Many European countries, on the other hand have outright bans on spanking. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child has outlawed all physical discipline, including within the family.
In South Asia not only parents regularly spank their children but allow schools to do it as well. It is also common practice in Africa.
Despite the warnings a good deal of the world continues to use corporal punishment when children misbehave, however, as science says, it only serves to increase the negative responses and induce misbehavior, some of which can be lifelong.
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