The spanking controversy

Katrina Geenevasen recently wrote a blog on a study that showed children who are spanked, are more likely to become aggressive by the age of five.

As Geenevasen said, spanking is supposed to bring positive results. This survey shows the opposite is true; more than half the children spanked frequently showed natural aggression by the time they were five, even as early as three.

The catch is, the study refers to children who are spanked frequently. According the article in The Tronoto Star that originally posted the results, this is more than twice a month. Just under half became aggressive if they were spanked only one or two times a month.

If people need to spank frequently, it is debatable whether they are getting any positive results to justify spanking. Obviously, most results are definitely not positive.

The study itself raises some key questions about spanking. Is it, definitely and without fail, spanking that is the problem? The study doesn’t reveal what methods the parents used to spank their children, or why they spanked or if they were angry, frustrated, or calm when they spanked, whether they spanked in public, or even what consists of spanking. It also didn’t outline what individual parents hoped to achieve by each spanking.

Experts in favour of spanking will usually say to be effective, the parent has to do it in love, not frustration or anger. They also tell the parent to sit down with the child immediately afterward and explain why they were spanked and that the parent loves them.

The study used only parents who spank their children frequently, twice a month or more. That’s at least once every other week. If a child is being spanked frequently, obviously the spankings are not having the desired results.

There are other forms of discipline that may work for the child. But if the above questions on why they are punished, how they are punished and what the parent’s motive and attitude to punish is, then alternative discipline may yield the exact same fruits. Those children may still be violent, even with other forms of correction. On the other hand, they may be less violent than they are with spanking, but the objective parents hoped to reach with correction might still not be reached.

The study accounted for some other factors that might be involved, but there are so many things still not accounted for. An interesting study to follow-up with would address the above issues and then see if the results are any different.

Geenevasen asks if violence in a child’s life will teach them how to vent frustration aggressively when they grow older. Over and over, it has been shown that generally speaking, the abused becomes the abuser. However, if spanking is done as a last resort and in love, not frustration, does it yield the same results?

The study proves that spanking, they way most frequent spankers use it, breeds more aggression. In proving that, it leaves a lot of other questions unanswered.

Katrina Geenevasen’s Blog
The Star

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