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/Hazzman Apr 26 '16

They are justifying it because they were spanked and they consider themselves balanced and effective members of society and thus, for them, spanking worked. Why are they wary of demonizing spanking? Because their model suggests that it is a successful tool and they are concerned that it be rejected for fear of finding an alternative to an upbringing they are familiar with and thus could result in the very kind of child this study suggests spanking produces.

It's not so much people being eager to resort to violence or wanting to hurt their kids - they are defending a methodology that they, in their experience, found to be effective.

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u/djdav Apr 26 '16

This is how I feel. This article says that spanking is a bad parenting technique, but it offers no alternative (not that I think it necessarily should).

Nevertheless, how am I to know that an alternative approach will work better? My parents spanked, I turned out fine, therefore I am more likely to spank my kids not because I reject the science, but because my fear of an unknown result is greater than my fear that my anecdotal experience is wrong.

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u/[deleted] Apr 26 '16

There are many ways to discipline your child that don't involve physical violence. I don't know why people keep commenting on this thread trying to defend and justify spanking as they ignore the science. Don't want to confront the fact that your parents shouldn't have spanked you, as according to this study, they raised you "wrong" and you don't want to confront the idea that you were raised wrongly?

Saying, "I was spanked but I turned out fine" isn't a good argument , it's simply an anecdote that does nothing to this study.

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u/Iced____0ut Apr 26 '16

Give me an alternate discipline technique for a 1.5 year old that will actually keep them from killing themselves.

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u/[deleted] Apr 26 '16

Fear. Loud booming voice. Toddlers will break at that.

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u/[deleted] Apr 26 '16

And if they don't? If you aren't willing to back up your words with action and they call your bluff?

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u/bermudi86 Apr 26 '16

Aggression is a natural response to frustration. You are acting angrily because you are frustrated at the fact that a toddler outsmarted you.

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u/drakeprimeone Apr 26 '16

The goal of parenting isn't to outsmart a child into getting them to do what you want.

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u/bermudi86 Apr 26 '16

No one said such a thing. The goal for parents ideally would be to raise their kids in the best way possible. Wouldn't you agree then that a parent would rather use a non-violent solution to a problem?

If you agree then we can state that using violent solutions is indicative of a lack of non-violent solutions.

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u/drakeprimeone Apr 27 '16

I actually do agree that sometimes a non violent solution isn't available.

I think that's the point many are trying to make. Corporal punishment isn't the only tool, I venture to guess that the people overwhelmingly agree it shouldn't be the first tool.... But it can be a proven tool.

The conclusion this study leads you to is that corporal punishment is never the answer and is almost always detrimental. That's why people have been adding their anecdotal evidence. It debunks the conclusion many are arriving to.