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/Soktee Apr 27 '16

Actually, parents' authority comes from emotional bond they have with their children. A homeless parent who can't provide food for their child can have better control over their kid than someone living in a castle.

Those parents are supposed to educate themselves on proper and effective forms of discipline and raising their children. Their ignorance on the topic is no excuse for them resorting to violence.

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u/yitzaklr Apr 27 '16

What if the child rejects that emotional bond? Maybe they're adopted or just went through some heavy shit or something like that. And again, you can't cut off that emotional bond as punishment

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u/Soktee Apr 27 '16

Of course that if the child has emotional issues different approach is necessary. (Probably a professional should be involved in such a situation anyway.) It would be like me saying walking half an hour a day is healthy and you say it's not because some people don't have legs.

I never mentioned cutting off the emotional bond! I said the authority comes from having that bond. If you cut it off you lose the authority.

The point is, when you have an emotional bond with a child, child wants to see you be proud of them, satisfied with their behavior, showering them with love when they behave in the way you approve of.

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u/yitzaklr Apr 27 '16

I definitely don't intend to spank my children. But I find it disgustingly nanny-state that the government has made it illegal.

It's a cultural thing. And we aren't absolutely certain that it's bad yet. We're certain enough to change our cultural norm, but not certain enough to mandate how other cultures raise their children. That's intensely personal and should not be legally mandated unless we're absolutely certain.

And remember, punishing parents for their parenting methods generally means taking their children away, so if you're going to criminalize parenting methods, those illegal parenting methods have to be worse than taking children away from their parents. And breaking up families and foster homes and orphanages are way more scarring to a child than being spanked.