The American Way of Disciplining Children

Americans are very big on spanking - bigger than any advanced Western nation, by far. Somewhere between 80% and 90% of Americans endorse spanking as an appropriate method of discipline. No other country comes close to that. In fact, in several countries, spanking children is illegal. In my experience, large numbers of American are shocked and disbelieving when they hear that. But it's true!!! Not only is spanking frowned upon by most other cultures, it is an ineffective way of disciplining children. A large number of psychological studies have shown that. Positive reinforcement and redirection of children's behavior have been shown repeatedly to have superior long-term effects. In fact the standard use of spanking has been shown over many years of research to be related to adult problems later on, problems such as depression, low self-esteem, and anxiety disorders.

There are alternatives; if you are tempted to use spanking as a form of discipline, get some literature from the Center for the Study of Corporal Punishment at Temple University or get a copy of the book  entitled "The Case Against Spanking," by the founding director, Irwin Hyman. More tomorrow.