Are you in favor or opposed to corporal punishment for children?

[DemocratSinceBirth]

CNN) -- How to discipline the next generation is a hotly debated topic. In 2012, a national survey showed more than half of women and three-quarters of men in the United States believe a child sometimes needs a "good hard spanking."
Science tells a different story. Researchers say physical punishment actually alters the brain -- not only in an "I'm traumatized" kind of way but also in an "I literally have less gray matter in my brain" kind of way.
"Exposing children to HCP (harsh corporal punishment) may have detrimental effects on trajectories of brain development," one 2009 study concluded.
Harsh corporal punishment in the study was defined as at least one spanking a month for more than three years, frequently done with objects such as a belt or paddle. Researchers found children who were regularly spanked had less gray matter in certain areas of the prefrontal cortex that have been linked to depression, addiction and other mental health disorders, the study authors say.
The researchers also found "significant correlations" between the amount of gray matter in these brain regions and the children's performance on an IQ test.


http://www.cnn.com/2014/07/23/health/effects-spanking-brain/index.html?hpt=hp_bn13

18 votes, 0 passes | Time left: Unlimited
	Favor
	2 (11%)
	Oppose
	16 (89%)
	0 DU members did not wish to select any of the options provided.
Show usernames Disclaimer: This is an Internet poll

[Tetris_Iguana]

1. My dad used the belt

But stopped because us kids would just laugh it off.

Much more effective these days to take away the kids iGadget or make then do some chores.

[Trillo]

2. I'm actually against childbirth.

This world ain't a good place for kids.

[aikoaiko]

3. Wow. Their criteria for harsh corporal punishment is really high.

My wife and I decided to not spank our son at all for punishment and although there were some moments when I thought he deserved it we haven't spanked him. He's nine now and doing fine.

But I can't say that would condemn a parent for judicious spankings.

[muriel_volestrangler]

4. " at least one spanking a month for more than three years"?

I can't imagine a parent doing that. That sounds like addiction on the parent's part.

[NaturalHigh]

5. Oh, I can.

Unfortunately, it happens all the time.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

6. I've never had kids but

my parents (my dad, not my mom) gave me a few spankings when I was a kid and they had no ill effects whatsoever. I can't describe what he did as "beating" me and his spankings were more scary than painful. I think they actually helped me quite a bit because each time they occurred I know I did something bad that a person just shouldn't do and the spankings really helped me remember my lesson (one time when I was five I threw a sprinkler nozzle at a little girl, nearly breaking her nose). I know there are some issues that liberals are supposed to support lock step like no spanking. In my case (and that's all I have to go on) I benefited from being spanked although I don't support physically painful beating however.

[bigwillq]

8. My parents did the same. I support the method

used by our parents.

[DiverDave]

7. I was beaten, the hell I want to do that to my kids?

So not just no, but HELL NO.
There are lots of other ways to get kids to mind.

[etherealtruth]

9. I raised three children without physical violence

.... I can't imagine striking them would have made it any better or made them any better people. They are wonderful productive adults... with the exception of the youngest one, but he is 18 and there is still hope

[Luminous Animal]

10. Opposed. All spankings, not just harsh ones, are child abuse.

[Lancero]

11. I find it intresting how similar...

The defense for corperal punishment is to how some try defending domestic abuse.

How to people defend corperal punishment? "Have to teach the kid a lesson"

Swap out kid for her, or a more derogatory term, and you've got the domestic abusers defense for their actions.

[MH1]

14. I oppose corporal punishment but there is a HUGE difference in the argument.

Kids DO need to be taught. (not by corporal punishment, in my book, but they DO need to be taught.)

Any guy that thinks he should be teaching his partner "a lesson" doesn't deserve that relationship. The only lesson the partner should take from that is to get out, now.

[JoePhilly]

12. It's lazy parenting.

[Blue_In_AK]

13. I don't favor it,

but I will admit to having swatted my kids on the butt a few times to get their attention. Not anything they could really feel, and I never turned them over my knee or anything. I am completely opposed to hard spanking.

[Bettie]

15. I still have a scar on the back of my leg from the day my father's belt buckle got loose

I also remember him walking toward us singing the little song he made up as he removed his belt and demanded that we all drop our pants and underwear so he could 'teach us'.

Half the time we weren't even sure what we were doing wrong. But, we did become compliant and did the proverbial asking "how high" when he said "jump". I also grew very good at knowing what clothing would hide that day's bruises and at reading when people are ready to resort to violence.

When the man died, I had no tears, just a grim feeling of satisfaction that he was finally gone. (He was also sexually abusive, I really won the parental lottery.)

I do it very differently with my kids.

I tell my kids what the problem is, why it is wrong (or I don't like them doing it) and ask them why they thought it was OK to do that.

The answer to that last question is usually: I didn't think about it.

So far, aside from arguing with each other and being too loud, I've only had to talk to them more than once about a behavior a few times.

Logic works if you allow kids to think it through.

I do still yell though. With three boys, sometimes you have to yell, just to be heard.

I'm certainly not a perfect parent, but they won't have the vision of someone coming toward them singing while intent on doing them physical harm.

[Jamaal510]

16. I'm on the fence about this one.

I don't have kids, but I think that when deciding what punishment to use, a parent should take the child's age into consideration. For example, when dealing with a teenager (or even a pre-teen), it won't do much good to spank them because they'll usually be too big to spank. However, if the child is a toddler, their brains aren't developed enough for a parent to just reason with them.
What I do think is that today, more kids and young adults lack manners and discipline, and part of the reason why is because their parents are more concerned about being their friends rather than parenting.

[raccoon]

17. IME, most of the time spanking is about how pissed off the parent is, not about what

the child did or didn't do.

And it didn't teach me a damn thing, except that Mama will hit you or beat you when she's pissed off.