Spanking children has always been a controversial issue in parenting. You can find experts that will support each side of the debate. Research has previously reported that 90% of the families in America have spanked their child at sometime in their life. A new study released in the September 2009 journal Child Development reports that early and frequent spanking before the age of one will increase aggression in a child by two years old. At three years of age you will see a delay in the child’s socio-emotional development. The study was performed by researchers at Duke University with 2,573 toddlers from a Head Start program that worked with young mothers from a low socioeconomic group.
Lawrence Diller author of The Last Normal Child argues that more parents should consider spanking to expedite behavior improvements in young children. Other experts will say the best use of spanking is between ages 2 to 6 when milder discipline tactics like time-out fail. All experts agree that spanking under the age of 2 years is inappropriate as it could cause physical injury, hurt the relationship, increase aggression and is not effective with this age group.
The good news for parents is that when you praise the positive behaviors seen in your children it has consistently worked better than punishment when trying to change or correct behaviors. Your praise should be meaningful and specific about the behavior you want to reinforce. Make sure your praise is frequent and is reinforced with a smile or hug. You can also reward positive choices with an extra bedtime story, delay bedtime for a half hour, prepare a special snack or allow a special privilege. Parenting each child can be a challenge but positive discipline will keep your relationship strong and make your children feel unconditionally loved by their parents.
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