Does the scientific evidence show that spanking is invariably detrimental regardless of how it is used?
Spanking-prohibition and conditional-spanking positions differ, too, on whether the use of disciplinary spanking is always or generally harmful in a cost-benefit analysis.
A recent newspaper article concerning the spanking of children indicated volumes concerning the philosophy involved in such punishment.
Physical punishment, such as spanking, was not in her character.
In the United States, spanking is one of the most widely used punishments of preschool-aged children.
Many parents wonder whether punishing a child by spanking is beneficial or harmful.
Two years have passed since the incident occurred, and although Edwards recounts the tale with humor, she still remembers the initial shock and subsequent anger she felt when her mild spanking was misconstrued as child abuse.
And when it comes to mild spanking, in particular, parents sometimes are made to feel like criminals for giving their children what may be a well-deserved swat on the bottom.
This week's episode entitled "Crime and Punishment" deals with the child-rearing issue on the policy on whether or not
spanking is an acceptable form of punishment for erring children.
Just make sure that the
spankings aren't coming along too often or getting out of hand.
The researchers analyzed the relationship between childhood
spanking and 17 outcomes, and found that 13 out of these 17 outcomes were significantly associated with
spanking.
"The result of
spanking is our children's fear and resentment of us," asserts Murray Straus, the most prominent "researcher" of the anti-spanking movement.