Parents swear that spanking is the best way to correct bad behavior in their children and teach them right from wrong. Is spanking a child healthy? The Natural Child Project disagrees.
The bond between parents and children is weakened by punishment, because it’s not in our nature to love someone who has hurt us. True cooperation, which is what every parent strives for, can only be achieved through a bond of mutual respect and love. Even when it appears that punishment works, it only produces superficially acceptable behavior, based upon fear. This is only possible until the children are old enough resist. A cooperation that is built on respect lasts forever and brings both parent and child happiness.
When we do this, it is unhealthy. Why then do we encourage children to have these relationships? According to the Natural Child Project, “If children receive little attention from their parents except when they are punished, it will cause them to confuse pain with pleasure.” The child will be very low-self-esteemed, and believe he doesn’t deserve anything better. Children will behave badly, even if they haven’t done anything wrong. It is a parent’s duty to guide the child in an appropriate manner to develop a character that is strong and to have a healthy sense of right or wrong.
It can also cause behavioral issues later in life. Eric P. Slade is an assistant professor of public health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. He states that spanking children younger than 2 years puts them into a group of children who are more likely to have behavioral issues later in life. This study looked at survey results of 1966 children across the country from ethnically varied households. Mothers were asked if their children had any behavioral problems.
Researchers were surprised when they found that 39 percent of children under 2 who had behavioral problems had been spanked once or more in the week prior. The link between spanking children and behavioral issues has been proven in numerous studies. If we’re trying to change the child’s behavior, then why do we spank them? There are other alternatives that are more effective than spanking. Positive Parenting recommends “Use logical consequences.” The consequences should be logically linked to the behavior. Positive Parenting uses the example of a child breaking a neighbor’s glass and the parent asking, “I’m sorry you broke the window. What will you do about it?” in a firm but kind tone. The child decided to wash his car and mow neighbor’s grass several times as a way to pay back the cost. What is the lesson that this child takes away? What does the child learn?
In conclusion, spanking a child is proven to cause harm and promote bad behavior, even when it’s not the most important thing. The relationship between a child and a parent can also be damaged. There are better, more effective ways to discipline if you don’t spank.
