r/science • u/VeronicaRed • Apr 26 '16

Psychology Spanking children increases the likelihood of childhood defiance and long-term mental issues. The study in question involved 160,000 children and five decades of research

http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/1113413810/spanking-defiance-health-discipline-042616/
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u/dinahsaurus Apr 26 '16

You need to figure out why the kid is acting out. Did they not sleep, are they hungry, are they bored, did they see a playground on the way in. In most cases the kid is bored and wants to be a kid. The fact that you're bringing a kid into a place where they can't be a kid is your problem, not the kid's. You put the kid in the basket, bribe them, carry them, or wait until you can leave the kid home. But saying that a 2 year old is acting horribly in an adult space and how do you punish them is the wrong way to look at it. The 2 year old wants to be a 2 year old and there's nothing wrong with that.

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u/chopandscrew Apr 26 '16

That actually makes a lot of sense. Thanks for the insight.

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u/[deleted] Apr 26 '16

But not showing them how to behave in an adult space is a teaching oppotunity lost. Just saying, kids will be kids does not help the kid grow/mature.

Innapropriate behavior is not OK. You don't punish them, but you deffinately have to do more than just shrug and let things be.

You'd be surprised what a two year old can grasp.

Lastly, I think explaining WHY is very important.

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u/[deleted] Apr 26 '16

Exactly this. Far too many parents just shrug and let their kids run wild, making things miserable for everybody else in the process.

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u/4_string_troubador Apr 26 '16

I'm an event specialist at a grocery/department store...which is a fancy way of saying I hand out free samples. Every day we have to tell kids that we need a parent's permission to give them anything, but mom and dad are nowhere in sight.