This definition makes it clear that we aren’t just talking
about extreme cases of child abuse here, but the common
practice of spanking as a form of discipline, and the AAP
warns that it is harmful and is calling for its abolition.
Children who experience corporal punishment have
been proven to be more aggressive and have an increased
risk of mental health disorders and cognitive problems.
Strikingly, even when warm parenting practices
occurred alongside spanking, adolescent conduct disorder
and depression remained, meaning that being a kind and
loving parent when not administering a spanking didn’t
save the child from its consequences. Some studies have
noted a relationship between physical punishment and
chronically high cortisol levels which could lead to lifelong
negative health effects.
Spanking may seem to work in the moment because
it temporarily interrupts the bad behavior, but what’s
happening in the child’s body and brain because of that
spanking is significant and puts the child at substantial
risk. In addition, spanking has been shown ineffective in
the long term, so it’s really not worth the risk to a child’s
mental and physical health.
Unfortunately, some parents still confuse the absence of
spanking with an absence of discipline, claiming that by
“sparing the rod,” children are allowed to get away with
all sorts of bad conduct. In addition, there’s the argument
that “I was spanked and turned out fine,” although it’s
impossible to know the impact those spankings had on
one’s developing brain and body and how that person
might have “turned out” in the absence of such trauma.
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