Spanking May Make a Child More Aggressive
Spanking children when they're 3 seems to lead to more aggressive behavior when they're 5, even if you take into account the child's initial level of aggression.
In other words, the old "I'll-give-you-something-to-cry-about" approach appears to backfire, new research suggests.
"We all know that children need guidance and discipline, but parents should focus on positive, non-physical forms of discipline, such as time-outs, and avoid spanking," said study author Catherine Taylor, an assistant professor of community health sciences at Tulane University's School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in New Orleans.
Corporal punishment, of which spanking is a relatively minor form, can have larger implications as well, according to experts.
"The article emphasizes how critical effective positive parenting is in breaking the cycle of violence and the potential to reduce overall levels of violence in our society," said Dr. Kathryn J. Kotrla, chairwoman of psychiatry and behavioral science at the College of Medicine, Texas A&M Health Science Center Round Rock campus. Previous studies have also turned up a link between corporal punishment and aggression in children, but none has controlled for as many factors as the new one, published in the May issue of the journal Pediatrics.
