NINE REASONS NOT TO SPANK

1. Spanking serves to suppress rather than eliminate undesirable behavior by teaching deviousness rather than helping develop inner convictions.
   
   
2. After a spanking, children are likely to feel that the misbehavior was paid in full with no need to feel remorse. However, a certain amount of "healthy" remorse or guilt helps children acquire the means for self-control. A child develops a conscience by feeling regret for misbehavior.
   
   
3. Aggression, such as spanking, by parents or other adults presents an undesirable model. Spanking teaches a child that it is permissible to hit to solve problems. Research has shown that a spanked child will imitate that behavior by striking out at a sibling, playmate, or pet. Aggression leads to aggression.
   
   
4. The emotional results of spanking on children can cause fear, tension, stress, withdrawal and resentment (anger).
   
   
5. Resentment has the effect of diminishing a child's level of cooperation and leads to further misbehavior or feelings of revenge. The evidence of that is the defiance that usually follows a spanking.
   
   
6. Spanking, slapping, biting, thumping, pushing, jerking and pinching along with the attendant yelling and/or screaming inevitably communicates to the child that he or she is bad or wrong and needs to be punished. The ultimate damage from spanking is to self-esteem.
   
   
7. Spanking can also result in physical harm to children. While not intending to do so, many parents may find themselves spanking a little harder each time. Some parents store anger and resentment against others, which erupts when they spank their child.
   
   
8. Since spanking generally creates a negative rather than a positive emotional relationship between parent and child, the result of the child's reaction will be one of avoidance and anger rather than compliance and cooperation.
   
   
9. Spanking has only a short-term effect on controlling a child's behavior through fear and intimidation. Respect on the other hand is a far, more effective means of developing a long term cooperative spirit in children and can be accomplished through the use of behavior modification.
   
   
   (Thanks to Tottsie Lorenz)

 

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