Spanking promotes aggression in children
Children receiving regular spankings to three years are more aggressive at the age of five years, according to a U.S. study published in the journal Pediatrics.
Catherine Taylor of Tulane University (New Orleans) conducted the study with 2,500 mothers of children under 3 years. Nearly half (45.6%) reported to have failed to spank their child during the previous month, 27.9% had one or two times and over a quarter (26.5%) had done more twice.
The researchers took into account in data analysis, other factors that may affect the development of aggression in children, such as neglect, drug or alcohol, stress and Maternal depression.
Children who regularly received the spanking showed aggressive behavior at age five. They were proof of “insolence, screams, cruelty, viciousness, vis-à-vis others. Some children were fighting, threatening and destroying things.
“There are ways to discipline children effectively without hitting them and this can reduce their chances of being aggressive later,” says the researcher.
“Parents do not have to resort to spanking to get what they want. If they avoid spanking, but use non-physical means, their child is more likely to perform well later.”
The American Academy of Pediatrics strongly opposes spanking for some reason.
In 2008, the Council of Europe has called on its member states to ban spanking. A call to which the French in particular are resisting.