A RECENT STUDY BY THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS has determined that PARENTS WHO SPANK THEIR CHILDREN END UP RAISING CHILDREN WITH MORE AGGRESSIVE TENDENCIES.
The study by Tulane University took a look at 2,500 3-year-old children and how their mothers disciplined them.
Children who were spanked by their mothers more than twice a month when the children were 3-years-old were found to have higher levels of aggression when the children reached age 5. Higher aggression levels included children who acted out defiantly, threw temper tantrums, demanded immediate gratification, or would resort to hitting or other physical acts.
Those behind the study determined that spanking, while a common short-term solution, failed to teach the child what the wrongful act was. Instead, spanking instilled unnecessary fear into the child, and reinforced a philosophy that being mean (through the parent’s spanking action) was a practical solution to the problem.
Researchers continue to recommend punishments such as time-out as superior alternatives to spanking.
Think of this similar to how one trains a puppy not to poo in the house. You could swat the puppy with a rolled-up newspaper (aka spanking), or you could rub the dog’s nose in the poop before putting the puppy back in its cage (show what the problem is, then force the puppy into time out).
Yes, Web Watch is comparing rearing a child to training a puppy.