Some people believe that spanking is a helpful way to discipline their children. But, there is a story that sticks out in my mind about a little girl who is spanked by her mommy and gets caught spanking her baby brother. When the mother asks why she is doing so the little girl explains she is playing mommy. Children often imitate and are very impressionable. If this little girl is hitting her brother then what will she do to other children? By her mother spanking her gives her the idea that hitting is okay. This leads to aggression and other negative effects on a child and can even effect their later years into adulthood.
Psychologist Irwin Hyman who is the author of “The Case against Spanking” has made the following statement and in my opinion has a valid point:”There is never a reason to spank a child period”. “There is no place in society where someone can smack another person. So why should we be able to do this to children?”
Do we as adults go around smacking and hitting each other? Well maybe some people deal with their problems by letting their aggression take over. But, as adults it is illegal to hit another adult and we suffer consequences for our violent actions. Why does a poor innocent child deserve to be spanked? They are innocent beings who are learning right from wrong. In my opinion there is no reason to spank a child.
According to Time:
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1983895,00.html
In a study published in Pediatrics there is strong evidence that children are affected by spanking and tend to act out and become more aggressive. So spanking may cause your children to stop having tantrums but it sets a bad example by showing them aggressive behavior is a solution to their parent’s problems. In this study 2500 children who were spanked often at three years of age were more likely to be aggressive at the age of five.
According to:
http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/9708/14/nfm.spanking/
Researcher Murray Strauss interviewed over 3,000 mothers who have children and found that spanking leads not only to aggressive behavior but antisocial behavior as well. This effect happens over weeks and months. Mr. Strauss stated the following: “Spanking chips away at the child’s liking for, and trust of the parent”. This can also lead to trust issues with family, friends, and even potential mates.
According to:
http://www.womensenews.org/story/health/010923/experts-spanking-harms-children-especially-girls
A growing number of experts believe that spanking is most harmful and has more of a negative effect on girls. The explanation for this is that this preconditions girls to accept violence which leads to domestic violence. When a girl is spanked by her father this is training her to be submissive. When a girl is subjected to being spanked this sets her up to become a victim of abuse from a boyfriend, a husband, and even an employer.
