{"id":2152,"date":"2023-04-22T06:00:34","date_gmt":"2023-04-22T13:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/?p=2152"},"modified":"2023-08-08T08:06:25","modified_gmt":"2023-08-08T15:06:25","slug":"why-spanking-is-not-okay-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/why-spanking-is-not-okay-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Spanking Is Not Okay"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Spanking isn\u2019t good for any child. Pediatricians at Kaiser Permanente and the American Academy of Pediatrics agree.<\/p>\n<h2>Spanking is a poor way to discipline a child.<\/h2>\n<p>But parents often ask: Why not spank to teach a child right from wrong? If a parent was spanked themselves, it\u2019s especially important to consider how that may affect their own coping and parenting style.<\/p>\n<p>Here are some of the negative effects of spanking:<\/p>\n<h3><b>Spanking teaches aggression<\/b>.<\/h3>\n<p>I\u2019ve always explained to parents that hitting a child shows them that physical aggression is an appropriate way to solve a problem. Does it make sense to spank Johnny if he takes a toy from his brother or bites a friend? It doesn\u2019t. Parents are more likely to spank when a child has been aggressive. Yet studies show that kids who are disciplined with spanking are more likely to become increasingly aggressive.<\/p>\n<h3><b>Spanking can harm<\/b>.<\/h3>\n<p>It\u2019s confusing for a child to be hit by a parent whom they trust and love. Often when children are acting out they\u2019re trying to get more loving attention from their parents. Try having regular \u201ctime in\u201d with your child to connect and give them that attention. Spanking is linked to child abuse, as well as mental illness, aggression, domestic partner violence, and drug and alcohol abuse later in life.<\/p>\n<h3><b>Spanking doesn\u2019t work<\/b>.<\/h3>\n<p>Spanking may seem to work initially, but studies have shown this effect doesn\u2019t last. Over time, spanking stops working to control a child\u2019s behavior and can actually make it worse. Kids learn right from wrong better without the threat of physical punishment. They learn with a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/parenting-young-kids-put-teacher-hat\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">patient and connected approach<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3><b>What works instead?<\/b><\/h3>\n<p>There are effective ways to help children improve their behavior, including:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Distractions<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/?s=time+out\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Time out<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/letting-your-child-learn-natural-consequences-2\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Logical consequences<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/positive-parenting-start-with-saying-10-positive-things\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Consistent positive praise<\/a><\/li>\n<li>Rewards for good behavior<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/mydoctor.kaiserpermanente.org\/ncal\/provider\/micheleevans\/about\/professional?professional=aboutme.xml&amp;ctab=About%20Me&amp;cstab=Professional\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Dr. Michele Evans<\/a>, a\u00a0pediatrician and expert in child abuse, explained her approach to me. She recommends parents use \u201crhythm, regularity, and routine.\u201d If children know what to expect, they\u2019ll feel more secure and less likely to act out.<\/p>\n<p>One way to do this is to help kids with transitions. For example, give a 5-, 3-, and 1-minute notice that the current activity is going to change. Say: \u201cIn 5 minutes it\u2019s going to be time to clean up the toys and sit at the table for dinner.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Parenting can be a frustrating business! At times you may lose your cool and spank or slap without planning to. If that happens, talk with your child later to explain how their behavior made you upset but that you know hitting them was not the right way to act. This apology can become a great time to model owning mistakes and \u201cmaking things right.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After raising 3 spirited kids, I\u2019m well aware of how close to our limits kids can take us. And to control their behavior, they need limits of their own. These can be taught in many ways \u2013 but spanking is ineffective, harmful, and should not be one of them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Spanking isn\u2019t good for any child. Pediatricians at Kaiser Permanente and the American Academy of Pediatrics agree \u2013 spanking is a poor way to discipline a child.<\/p>\n<p>But parents often ask: Why not spank to teach a child right from wrong?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":1123,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[454,674],"tags":[238,240,207,583,61,345,428,209,239],"class_list":["post-2152","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-behavior","category-parenting","tag-child-discipline","tag-corporal-punishment","tag-discipline","tag-national-child-abuse-prevention-month","tag-parenting","tag-parenting-with-positivity","tag-positive-discipline","tag-positive-parenting","tag-spanking","ages-all-ages"],"metadata":{"_edit_lock":["1691507186:8"],"_edit_last":["8"],"slide_template":[""],"video_format_choose":["youtube"],"_custom_body_class":[""],"_yoast_wpseo_content_score":["30"],"qode_animate-page-title":["no"],"qode_show-page-title-text":["no"],"qode_show-page-title-image":["no"],"qode_show-sidebar":["default"],"qode_hide-featured-image":["no"],"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":[""],"_yoast_wpseo_primary_ages":["294"],"_thumbnail_id":["1123"],"wpfp_favorites":["12"],"ase_chapter_enable_timeline":["off"],"_yoast_wpseo_estimated-reading-time-minutes":["3"],"post_featured_author_bio":["Dr. Michele Evans attended medical school at the University of Southern California then completed her pediatric residency at the Los Angeles County &amp; U.S.C. Medical Center.  She then joined the U.S.C. faculty and remained at the county hospital to work in the Violence Intervention Program conducting evaluations for child abuse and neglect and providing general pediatric care for children in the dependency care system. Dr. Evans full biography can be found on {{My Doctor Online}}."],"post_featured_author_image":["https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/michelle_evans_100x100.jpg"],"post_featured_author_bio_link":[""],"post_featured_author_role":["NO"],"_wpb_vc_js_status":["false"],"_yoast_wpseo_wordproof_timestamp":[""],"_yoast_indexnow_last_ping":["1691507185"],"_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":["Spanking isn\u2019t good for any child. Pediatricians at Kaiser Permanente and the American Academy of Pediatrics agree \u2013 spanking is a poor way to discipline a child."],"_yoast_wpseo_focuskeywords":["[]"],"_yoast_wpseo_keywordsynonyms":["[\"\"]"],"ase_map_component_start_point":["a:2:{s:3:\"lat\";d:29.76;s:3:\"lng\";d:-95.38;}"]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2152","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2152"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2152\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4245,"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2152\/revisions\/4245"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1123"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2152"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2152"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kpthrivingfamilies.org\/pediatricsblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2152"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}