The Case Against Spanking

by Ericka Lutz
  • It's harmful emotionally for you. Few parents feel wonderful after hitting a child. Spanking often leads to remorse, guilt, and doubts about the quality of your own parenting skills. Avoid the agony -- resist the urge to smack. It's a very unpleasant sensation to feel like a bully.

  • It's harmful emotionally for the child. Spanking is traumatic, makes a child feel as though there's something wrong with her (instead of something wrong with her behavior), creates resentment, and can lead to body image problems.

  • Spanking tells a child she is powerless. A powerless person will act out, leading to more problems.

  • Spanking is disrespectful to the child, and it doesn't help teach respectful values or standards.

  • It breaks trust and invades a child's sense of security.

  • It halts effective communication.

  • Where do you go from there? Once you resort to physical discipline, the only steps up are more, or stronger, physical discipline. Don't start down that path.

  • It doesn't work!!! In the very, very short term, you may stop the misbehavior. The backlash is not worth the very, very short term.

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