Why Spanking is Ineffective

For decades, many families have used spanking to discipline a child. However, research has shown that spanking isn't effective in changing behaviors and may even be associated with negative emotions. There are reasons why spanking is not effective in changing behaviors.

1.Modeling 
When parents spank a child, they are modeling that this is how conflict and issues are handled.

2.Expectations for behaviors
Spanking does not teach the child what is expected of them (or what good behavior is expected of them), as it only teaches what is undesired.

3.Fear of parent
Spanking may not be productive in helping to build a warm, close, and respectful emotional bond with the parent. It can be confusing for a child, because they seek parents for safety, yet this person inflicts physical pain and possibly causes fear. When spanking crosses into abuse, this can be very detrimental to the brain. When stressed (such as when we are spanked), our body releases cortisol, and in excessive amounts, this can be toxic to the brain and result in the loss of brain cells. Generally, our brain is processing the spanking as a threat and goes into the "fight or flight" response.

4.Shifts attention away from the child's behavior
When a parent spanks a child, the child's attention shifts towards the parent's behavior. When this happens, children are not going to be as likely to focus on their own behavior and what can be changed. Rather, they are going to turn their attention towards how mean the parent was and how scary that moment might have been.

As parents, we should be more focused on discipline, which involves teaching our children what is expected of them. Thus, we should teach them appropriate behaviors, as well as appropriate ways to regulate their emotions. The use of spanking as a main form of discipline are missed opportunities for developing strong, emotional connections with our children.