For once, I am proud to agree with AAP.
I’m SO SICK of the “I turned out all right” excuse. Um, just because you don’t remember the emotional turmoil caused by being hit by your parents does NOT mean it did not affect your childhood. I had a family member tell me he lived in constant fear of being spanked in the same conversation where he planned to hit his own children? Illogical arguments like this drive me crazy. It is incredibly sad that one has to make these arguments in retrospect to protect themselves from the emotional realization that someone they loved intentionally hurt them. Sure, you might have turned out “all right” but how much more emotionally and physically healthy could you have been?
Gershoff Study on the effects of hitting a child - seen as part of the continuum of physical abuse.
And heck, if that does not work for you, how about hitting your children setting them up for higher levels of heart disease as an adult? Don’t believe it? Click here. Studies over the last 60 years have shown a connection between corporal punishment and a host of ills, not limited to but including; antisocial behavior, increased risk of child abuse and spousal abuse, increased risk of child aggression and adult aggression, decreased child mental health and decreased adult mental health. Who would wish that on their child for the sake of an obedient child? A child that can be taught morals and obedience with parental leadership, involvement, and consistency!
Oh, and the Bible told you to do it, think again. Many spankers often quote Old Testament scriptures to prove their point. Those who subscribe to this argument misunderstand and misuse scripture. A similar method of selective reading could just as well be used to justify slavery, suppression of women, polygamy, incest and infanticide. (Thomas E. Sagendorf, retired Methodist Minister)
I know all forms of discipline can be misused - but spanking is just something that is a misuse of parental privilege from the start.
If you liked that post, then try these...
A wonderful exchange by Papaya Mom on September 1st, 2007
A couple on.
That voice by Papaya Mom on July 21st, 2007
“"There Is A Voice Inside Of You
That Whispers All Day Long,
"I Feel That This Is Right For Me,
I Know That This Is Wrong.
Popularity: 46% [?]
*cheering loudly*
Great thoughts, Papaya Mom! Thanks for posting this.
Papaya Mom,
Let me say first and foremost that I am absolutely shocked that illogical arguments drive you crazy. If you are not President of the illogical argument fan club than you are at least a member in excellent standing, as your blog post here reveals.
Correlation is not causation; this is one rule, which should always be kept in mind when reviewing the relationship between two things. I took the time to read the majority of Ms. Gershoff’s study, and I feel I should point out the following quote from it.
“My findings do not imply that all children who experience corporal punishment turn out to be aggressive or delinquent. A variety of situational factors, such as the parent/child relationship, can moderate the effects of corporal punishment. Furthermore, studying the true effects of corporal punishment requires drawing a boundary line between punishment and abuse. This is a difficult thing to do, especially when relying on parents’ self-reports of their discipline tactics and interpretations of normative punishment.”
It is also important to point out that Ms. Gershoff collected no data independently, but rather conducted a meta-analysis study using 88 different studies. It is widely accepted that it is difficult to draw strong conclusions from a meta-analysis study because often the same dependant variables are not being tested for across the board, which naturally means that not all independent variables are being held constant. One major factor in any meta-analysis study is the standardized mean difference; in her study Ms. Gershoff was unable to demonstrate a sufficient linear relationship between her variables. It is interesting Papaya Mom, that you do not like the “I turned out okay” excuse when all the Gershoff study possibly points out (keep in mind its inability to demonstrate a linear relationship between variables) is “look these kids did not turn out alright”. I thought you did not like illogical arguments? I will spare you a long-winded explanation on the fact that nearly all of these 88 studies on which Ms. Gershoff relied were based on parents self-reporting. I will merely point out that self-reporting is far from the most reliable method of data collection.
The shortcomings in the studies you sighted aside, I am going to address what I feel is the bigger issue in your post and that is your attack on parents who spank their children and more specifically my parents.
First, I feel the need to correct your misquote, I did not say I lived in constant fear of being spanked, what I said was I afraid of getting spanked when I had done something wrong. My parents did not walk around spanking us for no reason nor do I believe that they wanted too. My parents provided an excellent home full of love and support; my parents like most raised us through a combination of discipline, example and consistency.
The bottom line is this, spank or don’t spank your child, it’s completely up to the parent, but don’t try to imply that by spanking those parents are doing their children harm or caused them emotional/physical damage down the road, its offensive and even worse it is ignorance in its’ most supreme form.
I am not attacking your parents.
On everything else, we also seem to disagree on this. Shocking, I know.
Hmmm.
Since we’re not there, I hadn’t pondered this issue yet.
Food for thought. Thanks for posting.