Tracy Ross and Dr. Michael Bordieri discuss the effectiveness and effects of spanking as a form of punishment on Sounds Good.
Studies find that 90 to 94 percent of parents spank children ages 3 to 4 and up to 50 percent of parents use spanking or some kind of physical punishment on children as old as 12, according to Bordieri.
“Here’s the thing about physical punishment. It works. And it works really well. The technical term we call here is immediate compliance. Kids do what you ask when you hit them,” Bordieri said.
He says other parenting tools are effective in the long term but not right away, so it makes sense that spanking is still a common parenting tool. But he says there are some concerning short-term and long-term side effects of spanking.
“When physical punishment is the primary strategy used and in higher amounts, those kids tend to see higher levels of aggression towards their peers. And that effect can persist all the way through to adulthood, where we look at risk for delinquency, risk for criminal behaviors, risk for an arrest record or for violent crimes committed, there is an association,” Bordieri said. “Now, of course, that doesn’t mean that every child who is spanked is going to develop that, but it means there is a risk when we look at it.”
Higher amounts of physical punishment, Bordieri says, can lead to children developing low self esteem and internalizing the idea that they are a “bad kid.” He says it can also lead to lower quality parent-child relationships.
“That’s one of the main effects we see, is that punishment can make the parent aversive… it can turn interactions between the parent and kid into a situation where just the parent coming and spending time with the kid can mean, ‘oh, punishment is on the way, I’m gonna get spanked,’” Bordieri said.
Bordieri says the risks to using physical punishment, particularly when used frequently or later in childhood, can outweigh potential benefits.
“But I’m not going to tell parents with two or three-year-olds if there’s a time where a light spanking, very occasionally, might be effective, [research] doesn’t suggest that there’s a huge increase in risk for later problematic behavior,” Bordieri said.
More important than determining if there is ever a time for physical punishment is finding alternative techniques to achieve desired behavior, according to Bordieri. He says punishment teaches kids what not to do but doesn’t teach them what behavior is appropriate.
“So in environments where a kid is constantly getting spanked, they learn that the world is scary, they learn that they’re bad, and they’re not taught ways that they can meet their needs more effectively,” Bordieri said.
He says it is important to praise kids for good behavior and create positive interactions every day.
