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When I saw the article yesterday, I was
intrigued. I am a believer in spankings. I think that spankings done right are
one the best tools a parent has in their discipline arsenal. I am also a
believer in good research. I was a Psychology major in college and learned
quite a bit about research methods and statistics.
So you can understand why this particular article got me up in
arms. It hits on several subjects that are close to my heart.
Let me give you an overview of the article.
"Researchers examined data from more than 34,000 adults and found that being spanked significantly increased the risk of developing mental health issues as adults."
The article goes on to claim that physical punishment, aka
spanking, is linked to increased risk of depression, anxiety, personality
disorders, and drug and alcohol abuse. The
researchers claim that they exclude harsh physical punishment and
abuse.
"We're not talking about just a tap on the bum," study author Tracie Afifi, PhD, of the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, explained in a statement. "We were looking at people who used physical punishment as a regular means to discipline their children." However, the analysis excluded individuals who reported more severe maltreatment such as physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, physical neglect, emotional neglect, or exposure to intimate partner violence."
When you examine the article on it's face value, it really doesn't look good for spanking.
So I took the time to dig a little deeper. I took the time to read
the actual study in the Journal of Pediatrics. I found that the researchers
actually defined "spanking" as harsh physical punishment which
included pushing, grabbing, shoving, slapping, and hitting.
Now, I will be the first to
tell you that pushing, grabbing, shoving, slapping, and hitting your child
especially out of anger and frustration is a terrible idea, but that is not
spanking.
It's not surprising to me
that what the researchers call "harsh physical punishment" is connected
to emotional disorders and drug and alcohol abuse. Such discipline is
often sudden and severe, causing the child to question their security and
trust in their parents. Discipline done out of anger (I can't imagine a
parent slapping a child in love) only leads to fear and long term
emotional problems.
In fact, Colossians 3:21
warns parents to "provoke not your children to anger, lest they be
discouraged." (And to think that little piece of truth is being
backed up by modern research!)
However, true spankings,
based on a Biblical model of discipline, are
done out of love, consistently, with proper warnings and explanations. And the
Bible promises that proper discipline brings about good results.
He that
spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes
Proverbs
13:24
Foolishness is bound in the
heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.
Proverbs 22:15
Thou shalt beat him
with the rod, and shalt deliver his soul from hell. My son, if thine heart be wise, my heart shall
rejoice, even mine.
Proverbs 23:14-15
As permissive parenting is becoming more and more popular in
the world, Christians will continue to face ridicule for disciplining and
raising their children in the Truth. So next time you read an article that
claims all spanking is bad, or someone tells you that all physical punishment
is tantamount in abuse. Don't fear. No matter what the research says (or
in this case doesn't say) we can trust that the Word of God will never
steer us wrong.
*Note: I understand that not all Christian choose to spank
their children, and I do believe there are many other forms of discipline
(time-out, revoking privileges, making them eat vegetables) that
work well with different children. I'm not discounting those methods. Each
family has to make their own decision about discipline in their own home. Just
don't base your decision on popular research articles without consulting the
Word of God and getting all your facts straight :)
Love this! Very informative, open and honest. Thank you for writing such a well rounded post on such a touchy subject.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this! It surprises me how quickly misinformation like in that article spreads. Discipline done in love is the key. Even time-outs and other methods can be done in a damaging way or a loving and constructive way.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. Spanking has gone "out of style" in our modern world, but anything God advises cannot cause mental illness. It's deceptive how the survey actually measured harsh punishment but then publicized it as spanking. Thanks for sharing. Gail (BibleLoveNotes.com)
ReplyDeleteGreat article! Thanks for sharing your research and uncovering the mis-information! Its good to know that we aren't the *only* Christian family that still takes the Bible for its word and consider spanking to be an acceptable form of discipline.
ReplyDeleteI am always interested to see people saying things like "spanking has gone out of style" because I am the only mother I know who chooses not to spank my children, and am constantly brought under fire for it, despite the fact that I have well-behaved children. Since most people I know do spank their children, i believe that there are more issues involved with the decline of manners in our society than simply the spanking issue. I, too, take the BIble at it's word, but a "rod" is used for directing and not just for hitting :) We are instructed to train up our children and guide them, and I believe that can be done without the use of hitting them (through spanking). Great thoughts though, and thank you for respectfully stating your opinion :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for this article. We've found judicious spanking to be a very effective form of training our children in the way they should go.
ReplyDeleteSome food for thought:
ReplyDeletehttp://fayevanop.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-magnificent-lie.html