Spanking

**Spanking** is hitting the buttocks or cheeks or similar of another person to cause them pain as corporal punishment. Spanking usually means hitting the buttocks of another person with an open hand. Some parents **spank** children and teenagers to punish them.

In some countries, spanking is no longer allowed. But the practice continues elsewhere and a large number of children are still spanked illegally even where spanking is against the law.

Parents often hope that spanking will make the children obey them. Historically and at present, adults have spanked boys more than they have spanked girls.

Another motivation for parents to spank their children comes from the Bible. Proverbs 23:13-14 states:

"Don't hesitate to discipline children. A good spanking won't kill them.  As a matter of fact, it may save their lives."

When a parent spanks their child, they usually strike the child's buttocks with their open hand. Sometimes they use other objects such as a belt or a wooden spoon.  At times, the child's buttocks may be clothed. At other times, they may be bare. A parent might spank a child over clothing to preserve the child's privacy. But they might spank on a bare bottom to make the spanking hurt more or to see the impact of the swats. Often the parent makes the child lie across their lap. At other times, a parent might tell a child or teenager to bend over or lie face down across a bed.

Parents spank on the buttocks because there is less chance of physical injury than striking other parts of the body. But slapping hands or applying a switch - a thin flexible stick - to the upper legs are other common means of physical discipline.

When children are asked how they feel when their parents spank them, many say that it makes them feel sad, angry, and afraid.  Some young children in the United Kingdom whose parents spanked them said things like, _“it feels like someone banged you with a hammer”_ and _“it hurts and it’s painful inside – it’s like breaking your bones”_. But other children may feel that spanking helps them to learn right from wrong or atone for their misdeeds.

Because spanking is becoming taboo or even illegal in some places, it can be difficult to know how frequently it is applied. One interesting survey in 2024 looked at current college students' experience with corporal punishment as children. 86.8% reported being spanked as children. And three quarters planned to spank any children they may have one day.

The American Academy of Pediatrics is a group of medical doctors who work with children.  They say that spanking is not a good way to help children learn how to behave. They say that it can easily injure a small child. They say that spanking can lead to child abuse.  They say that parents should never spank a child with an object.

Some groups of people have said that spanking is violent and goes against human rights.  They are people like lawyers, social workers, and politicians. Spanking a person under the age of 18 is now against the law in more than 40 countries.  Some of those countries are Brazil, Germany, Israel, Argentina, Sweden, Netherlands, Spain, Poland, New Zealand, Kenya, and Costa Rica.

Dr. Elizabeth T. Gershoff is a scientist who studies spanking.  She says that research done over many years shows that spanking does not work.  She says that spanking does not teach children good behavior or to obey their parents.  She says that children who are spanked obey their parents less as time goes on.  Dr. Gershoff said that spanking is "violent" and should be stopped.  In 2012, a group of Canadian  scientists also looked at many years of research and found that spanking does not work.  They said that over time, spanked children become more aggressive.  Murray Straus is another scientist studying spanking of children.  He has said that there is new research showing that spanked children commit more crimes when they grow up.  He said that this was so even if their parents were "loving" to them.

A small number of scientists have claimed that ordinary spanking does no harm. And some conservative organizations provide advice to parents about how to spank. They encourage parents to not be angry when they spank and to only use a predetermined number of swats, for instance.

Other scientists say that "over 100" studies have shown that spanking can harm children.  They say that spanking harms children's mental growth.  They also say that children who are spanked grow up to have more mental illnesses.  They say that no study has shown any good to come from spanking. Scientists at the University of Manitoba in Canada found that children who were hit even "sometimes" suffered more mental illnesses when they grew up.  They could have different kinds of mental illnesses: long-lasting sad or discouraged feelings and a loss of pleasure and interest in life (depression), a lot of fear and worry (anxiety), racing thoughts that are hard to control and acting without thinking (mania), or a need to take drugs or alcohol to feel well (drug and alcohol abuse).  Other scientists have discovered that spanking children often can make their brains grow less than they should.  These children end up less able to think clearly. They also try to hurt others more.