This is What Happens When You Hit Your Kids
Here are seven things you need to keep in
mind about physical discipline.
1. Hitting children teaches them that
might makes right.
When a parent tries to get
children to behave better by hitting them,
that parent is telling them that hitting
people who are smaller and weaker than
you is an acceptable way of getting what
you want from them. Why should it surprise that parent when their children beat up smaller
children at school, or grow up to be wife beaters?
2. Adults frequently get out of control when they hit children.
As adults, we frequently come home frustrated, tired, and angry. We haven't the
patience to deal with what our kids may be dishing out. Once you begin hitting the child who
is pushing your buttons, you will experience enormous relief. And that pleasant relief can drive
you to hit even more, even harder.
4. Hitting your children may stop their bad behavior but will damage them and your
relationship with them in the long run.
People who believe "sparing the rod spoils
the child" typically dismiss the enormous
body of research showing that hitting
children turns them into angry, resentful
adults with psychological and emotional
problems. A large meta-analysis of studies on
the effects of punishment found that the
more physical punishment children receive,
the more defiant they are toward parents
and authorities, the poorer their
relationships with parents, the more likely
they are to report hitting a dating partner or
spouse. They are also more likely to suffer
mentalhealth
problems,
such
as
anxiety,
depression,
and
substance