To spank or not to spank? Parents, experts debate the old tradition

"Spare the rod and spoil the child?" Or, do you believe "Spanking is child abuse?" ...something in between, perhaps?

Like most Americans, I was spanked as a child; and spanked - not only my own children, but as a young principal in Kenton County in the 1980s, I might have spanked your child, too. In fact, in those days many parents expected school principals to act on their behalf in their absence. Some still do.

But that trust has been undermined - sometimes by principals themselves. Some folks made the spanking about the adult instead of being about the child. Some kids got beaten and bruised. Unconscionable. Now relatively few principals spank. State law still permits it, but most school district policies don't.

This from the Medville Tribune.

Spanking kids is as American as mom and apple pie. Most children in this country — more than 90 percent — catch it from parents at some point while growing up.

When a California state representative brought up the idea of outlawing spanking of children under 3, she was amazed the reaction.

“In my wildest dreams, I couldn’t have expected this much focus and worldwide media. To me, it shows we’re on the right track,” Democart Sally Lieber said in a phone interview. “Children are the last group in society that it’s OK for people to hit.”

So what do we know about spanking? And what are parents supposed to do instead?

Yes, kinder, gentler punishments (timeout, anyone?) are on the rise, and the rate of hitting older kids is on the decline. But children in the peak spanking years — 2 to 5 — are still being punished physically as much as ever.

“What hasn’t changed is hitting toddlers; that’s remained over 90 percent,” says Murray A. Straus, sociologist and co-director of the Family Research Laboratory at the University of New Hampshire.

“Most people, it doesn’t adversely affect,” Straus adds. But Straus believes it’s risky. He says it can lead to physical abuse, as well as begetting a host of ills, including depression and violence. Which raises the question: Why do so many of us survive it so well?

“All the students in my classes say, ‘I was spanked and I’m not a psychopath,’ ” says Ross Thompson, a professor of psychology at the University of California, Davis, and an expert in early personality and emotional development. “But most of those students have been raised by parents who did other things besides spanking.”

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Corporal punishment can mean different things to different people. Afterall, there's a big difference between correcting a child and beating a child.

In Kentucky, "corporal punishment" is still permitted under KRS 503.110. Whether it occurs at a particular school is the decision of the local School Based Decision Making Council.

The Kentucky Center for School Safety serves as the central point for data analysis, research, and dissemination of information about successful school safety programs, research results, and new programs. The center collects annual data on discipline in the schools and reports the number of actions taken in a particular year for specific violations of board policy or state law.

Their 2006 report shows the numbers of violations, along with the actions taken. From this data, one can derive the number of districts that still use corporal punishment. Lisa Gross, Communications Director for KDE, puts the number of districts permitting spanking at 57. Feel free to count for yourself.

Statewide, corporal punishment is chosen as a disciplinary response at a rate of about 1 in 200 student violations. This compares to suspensions, which account for about 12 in 100 violations. 3,460 students were spanked in the 57 districts that permit corporal punishment. Statewide, 76,825 students were suspended.



Corporal punishment occurs the most in eastern Kentucky districts.



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Some things to think about when chosing to spank your child, or one entusted to you:

• If it's not about the child's welfare - don't do it.
• Choose wisely. You have other options.
• Corporal punishment should be rare, like, for defiance only.
• When thinking about a disciplinary response, remember: you don't have to decide on a consequence this minute. Make sure you are in control; not angry.
• To change behavior, remember: It's not the severity of the punishment that works. It is certainty. If a child deserves a consequence, make sure they get one of your choosing.
• Timeouts are a better option in most cases, when effectively implemented.