In the United States there is an ongoing debate on using corporal punishment to discipline

children. While corporal punishment is still very much prevalent throughout households in the

United States, this form of discipline is rarely used, if even at all, in the education system. Ample

research studies have published findings that support the claim that corporal punishment, or

spanking, produces long-term negative results and isn’t effective in producing desirable behavior

long-term. However, spanking is oftentimes the first tactic used to discipline or consequent

children.

A school in Georgia made news headlines recently when officials announced the return

of corporal punishment within the district. While many people were in uproar on social media,

there was an extremely large group of people that supported this movement. Supporters took to

social media to argue the belief that using this form of discipline will bring about positive change

within the community and “will make America like it used to be,” while advocating for more

institutions to join in reinstating corporal punishment.

Corporal Punishment as Discipline

It is well known that hitting others is prohibited and may result in being criminally

charged with assault. Yet, over 80% of American parents use spanking and physical punishment

to discipline their children (Gershoff, et al., 2018). Parents believe spanking to be effective at

correcting behavior, teaching children right from wrong, and guiding children to make more

positive choices. However, research findings suggest that these beliefs are far from the truth. A

meta-analysis completed by Gershoff and Grogan-Kaylor (2016) found that spanking was

associated with higher risk for detrimental outcomes such as more aggression, lower self-esteem,

more antisocial behavior, more mental health problems, lower moral internalization, lower

cognitive ability, more internalizing and externalizing problems, and more negative relationships
with parents. Previous research has indicators that factors that are predictive of positive attitudes

toward and increased use of corporal punishment include living in the South, religious beliefs,

lower socioeconomic status, lower education level, minority race, and a history with greater

exposure to corporal punishment in childhood (Taylor, McKasson, Hoy, & DeJong, 2017). The

US Alliance to End The Hitting Of Children reports that corporal punishment is also related to

“decreased IQ, increased adult abusive behaviors, and the increased risk of being victimized by

abusive relationships into adulthood” (Paddling in public schools, 2018)

A policy statement made by the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

(2012) states that corporal punishment is ineffective over time and is associated with increased

risk for physical abuse, learning that aggression is an acceptable method of problem solving,

experiencing physical and emotional pain, decreases learning capacity, being less likely to learn

why a certain behavior or action was wrong, and behaving out of fear in the future.

Professional Organizations’ View of Corporal Punishment

The Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children is an organization that

works in partnerships with government entities and human rights organizations across the globe

to eliminate the corporal punishment of children. According to the Initiative’s reports, only 10%

of the world’s children are fully protected in law from all corporal punishment, however, there

are currently 54 states and territories have now achieved prohibition in all settings including

Nepal, Greece, Hungary, Ukraine, Romania, Iceland, Austria, Norway, Finland, Peru, Ireland,

Brazil, Bolivia, Poland, Spain, Venezuela, Netherlands, and New Zealand (Global Initiative to

End All Corporal Punishment of Children, 2018).

 Hands Are for Holding is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing education about

the current neurobiological discoveries associated with spanking. This organization reports on

their website that 30% of American parents begin spanking before the child’s first birthday, 50%

of all toddlers are spanked three or more times per week, and over 90% of all toddlers are

spanked (www.stopspanking.org, 2018).

The prohibition of corporal punishment and spanking is also supported by The American

Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), The American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children

(APSAC), The Centers for Disease Control (CDC), American Academy of Family Physicians

(AAFP), American Association of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. American Bar Association,

American Psychological Association (APA), Mental Health American (MHA), and many more.

Effective Discipline Tactics

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that rules and structure

teach children what behaviors are okay and not okay (2018). The three key elements to building

structure in the home are: (1) consistency, or doing the same thing every time, (2) predictability

in that children expect or know what is going to happen, and (3) follow-through by enforcing the

consequence (CDC, 2018).

Along with consistency and structure, discipline and consequences are used to teach and

guide children in behaving appropriately. Applied behavioral analysis theorizes that rewarding

desired behaviors will encourage the child to repeat the behavior, while negative consequences

that result from undesirable behavior will deter children from repeating the behavior. It is

important to note that the desired behavior must be stated implicitly so that there is no confusion

between the parent and the child.

 While rewards can be materialistic, there are other forms of rewards to keep in mind.

Social rewards may include giving the child affection, praise, or attention. Rewards can also be

incorporated into a reward program that may use a sticker chart to keep track of how often the

behavior is demonstrated. Negative consequences, also referred to as discipline, may include

losing a certain privilege, time-out, and ignoring attention seeking behaviors.

Changing the Dialogue

While there is a multitude of evidence supporting the claim that corporal punishment has

more negative results than positive results, parents are still using this method as discipline. It is

critical that the effects of corporal punishment are publicized more within the media, in the

school systems, in churches and religious organizations, in daycare facilities, and in all medical

facilities. Chavis et al., (2013) found that a brief, one-time, multimedia intervention that was

integrated into the routine pediatric primary care visit affected parents’ attitudes toward using

less physical punishment. This method of intervention seems to be the most realistic and

plausible since most children and parents will visit a doctor’s office. To ensure lasting change,

parents and caregivers must focus on rewarding positive behaviors and taking the time to teach

our children the importance of the rewarded behavior.

 References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2017). Essentials for Parenting Toddlers and

Preschoolers. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/

Chavis, A., Hudnut-Beumler, J., Webb, M. W., Neely, J. A., Bickman, L., Dietrich, M. S., &

Scholer, S. J. (2013). A brief intervention affects parents’ attitudes toward using less

physical punishment. Child Abuse & Neglect,37(12), 1192-1201.

doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2013.06.003

Child Maltreatment and Violence Committee of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent

Psychiatry. (2012). Corporal punishment.

https://www.aacap.org/aacap/policy_statements/2012/Policy_Statement_on_Corporal_Pu

nishment.aspx

Gershoff, E., & Grogan-Kaylor, A. (2016). Spanking and child outcomes: Old controversies and

new meta-analyses. Journal of Family Psychology,30(4), 453-469.

doi:10.1037/fam0000191

Gershoff, E., Goodman, G., Miller-Perrin, C., Holden, G., Jackson, Y., & Kazdin, A. (2018). The

strength of the causal evidence against physical punishment of children and its

implications for parents, psychologists, and policymakers. American Psychologist,73(5),

626-638. doi:10.1037/amp0000327

Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children. (2018). Global progress.

Retrieved from http://www.endcorporalpunishment.org/

Hands are for Holding. (2018). Stop spanking. Retrieved from http://stopspanking.org/
Taylor, C. A., McKasson, S., Hoy, G., & DeJong, W. (2017). Parents' primary professional

sources of parenting advice moderate predictors of parental attitudes toward corporal

punishment. Journal of Child and Family Studies,26, 652-663. doi:10.1007/s10826-016-

0586-3

The US Alliance to End the Hitting of Children. (2018). Paddling in public schools. Retrieved

from www.endhitting.org