Spanking Can Lead To Future Relationship Violence, Claims A New Research Study

Parents who believe in “spare the rod, spoil the child” might be setting their children up to become violent towards future partners, according to a new research report. The Journal of Pediatrics stated they asked 758 teens from the ages of 19- and 20-years-old how often they were spanked, slapped, or struck with an object as a young child as a punishment. The study revealed that the children who experienced corporal punishment were more likely to commit dating violence.

According to CNN, the study’s lead author, Jeff Temple, said that the best part of the research was they were able to remove those children who reported being abused by their parents and focus on the kids who were spanked as punishment. They found that when they took the abused children out of the study, spanking alone was still enough to increase the risk of dating violence.

The study’s findings were not a surprise to the American Academy of Pediatrics spokesman, Dr. Bob Sege, who opposes spanking a child for any reason. He believes that research proves that spanking can cause mental health disorders and aggression.

“This study confirms and extends previous research that says children who experience violence at home, even if it is couched as for their own good, end up using violence later in their lives,” Sege explained.

“For children, their parents are the most important people in the world, and they learn from them what are social norms and how people should behave toward each other. Corporal punishment confuses the boundaries between love and violence for children while they are learning how to treat others.”

The research study revealed that many of the children reported their parents would slap or spank them often. However, some reported their parents used the following for punishment: kicking, shaking or throwing children, scratching, pinching, biting, pulling hair or boxing ears, forcing children to stay in uncomfortable positions, burning, scalding or forced ingestion such as washing mouth out with soap.

In the United States, it’s legal for parents to physically punish their children at home and most agree that the government has no right to interfere with parenting decisions.

“We didn’t have seat belts for children when I was growing up, either. Research changed that. The effects of corporal punishment are quite well established to be poor,” Sege added.

Most health experts agree that spanking should only be used for children who fail to respond to their parents and they are in a dangerous situation. For example, if your toddler keeps running out to the street, a swift hit on the behind may be warranted.

The research study revealed that a single spanking probably wouldn’t do any harm, but repeated spankings can hurt the child.

“Once or twice is almost surely no big deal, and the real problem is the parents who are doing it a lot…. It’s really the parents who are using it regularly and intentionally as a form of discipline.”

Since the research studies prove that spanking doesn’t work, the American Board of Pediatrics recommends the parents use time-outs and taking favorite toys or electronic devices away from the child.

The real question is if there is no benefit to spanking your child and it could lead to your child becoming an abusive partner later in life, why take that chance. Instead, the American Board of Pediatrics recommends using time-outs for young children and teaching teenagers to take responsibility for their actions.