Spanking

Spanking Spanking – to slap with one's open hand or a flat object, especially on the buttocks as a punishment. This is what the definition of spanking is today. In the past, it was very normal for parents to spank their children when they were disobedient or did something wrong. In today’s world however, corporal punishment is becoming less and less common around the world. “Sweden, in 1979, was the first to make it illegal to strike a child as a form of discipline. Since then, many other countries in Europe have also instituted bans, as have New Zealand and some countries in Africa and the Americas” (“Corporal”). The reason for the outlawing of spanking in so many countries is the negative effects it can have on children. Spanking is an outdated and brutal form of punishment that results in psychological damage in children, and should be outlawed in the United States. “In a study conducted by Marjorie Gunnoe, professor of psychology at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, it was found that those who were physically disciplined performed better than those who weren’t in a whole series of categories, including school grades, an optimistic outlook on life, the willingness to perform volunteer work, and the ambition to attend college” (Kettle). While this may be true in some very rare cases, it is more often true that spanking evolves into abuse, which endangers a child’s safety and can cause psychological damage, leading to aggressive behavior, substance problems, and acts of delinquency during adolescence. It is also true that while many pro-spanking parents cling to the effectiveness of the method, evidence suggests that striking a child often backfires, making them more, not less, unruly. “In a 2010 Pediatrics study, 3-year-olds who were spanked more than twice a month were 50 percent more likely to exhibit hostile tendencies by age 5.” (Moninger). More studies have shown that the more parents spank, the more likely kids are to hit the