In 31 states and more than 100 foreign countries, spanking in schools has gone the way of cassette tapes, pay phones and Kodachrome. But, as USA TODAY reported recently, 19 states across the USA, mainly in the South, still permit corporal punishment — typically swats on the backside of a student with a wooden paddle.
That’s not just unnecessary. It’s a bad idea.
Among the unconscionable problems with corporal punishment: Racial discrimination. The U.S. Education Department found that African-American students are twice as likely to be spanked as their peers of other races, USA Today reported. In North Carolina, Native Americans represent 2 percent of the student population yet make up 35 percent of those physically punished, The American Academy of Pediatrics concluded years ago that spanking harms learning and self-image, the paper reported.
“To fight child abuse, it’s not enough just to remove children from dangerous situations, or to investigate allegations of child abuse,” Patton said. “Social service professionals and others engaged in the fight need to become culturally competent by developing a stronger understanding of the link between child abuse and the history of personal and cultural trauma.”
This Hurts Me More Than It Hurts You: In Words and Pictures, Children Share How Spanking Hurts and What To Do Instead is not another parenting tome by an ivory-towered theorist. This eye-opening book is written and illustrated by those most affected by spanking — children. Their words and drawings show that spanking doesn’t result in the behaviors parents and teachers desire. Instead, it sows seeds of pain, despair, humiliation, confusion, anger — and the continuation of a cycle of violence.
“The future of any society depends on its ability to foster the healthy development of the next generation. Extensive research on the biology of stress now shows that healthy development can be derailed by excessive or prolonged activation of stress response systems in the body (especially the brain), with damaging effects on learning, behavior, and health across the lifespan.”