Expert: ban child spanking

Murray Straus? LOL What an idiot!

The roll call of politicians who go for this will be
a list of political careers that just ended.

EVEN in Massachusets!

Tell us though, "N.S", why you hide behind anonymity?
Unsure of your beliefs?

Are they gonna let you post on the internet from
the nursing home as you become more senile, Don?

Leave it up to younger and more vigorous parents you senile old fart.


On Dec 5, 10:36 am, wrote:
Expert: ban child spanking
Agrees with woman who filed Mass. bill
Karen Dandurant
By Karen Dandurant

December 03, 2007 6:00 AM
PORTSMOUTH -- There has been intense public scrutiny of a bill under
discussion in the Massachusetts Legislature that would ban spanking
children.
The bill was submitted by Kathleen Wolf, a nurse who lives in
Arlington, Mass. She said her intention is not to punish parents, but to
urge state officials to take a stand against corporal punishment in
Massachusetts. Wolf concedes the bill has no chance of becoming law, but
her goal is to educate parents so that they and the parents of the
future learn better methods for disciplining children.
Weigh in on the forum
Is spanking ever appropriate? Should the state decide what's discipline
and what's child abuse? Share your thoughts at To spank or not spank atwww.seacoastparentsconnect.com
"We pass the behavior down from generation to generation," Wolf said.
"If we are not taught options, we draw on that experience. We need to
offer education so people can develop other options."
Wolf and clinical psychologist Theresa Whitehurst testified in favor of
the bill before the Massachusetts House on Wednesday. The bill was filed
by Rep. Jay Kaufman on Wolf's behalf.
Professor Murray Straus, co-director of the Family Research Laboratory
and professor of sociology at the University of New Hampshire, said he
agrees with Wolf. A top researcher in his field, Straus has studied
spanking by examining large and representative samples of American
parents since 1969. He is the author of "Beating the Devil Out of Them:
Corporal Punishment in American Families and Its Effects on Children."
He supports legislation against corporal punishment of children. He
said spanking is not effective as a disciplinary tool and that the harm
it causes is reason enough to abandon it.
"I think it's a very important thing to do, based on a large amount of
research," Straus said. "One review of 119 studies found a 93 percent
agreement in the results, showing the harmful effects of spanking. There
is nothing else in child research where the results are so consistent
and yet are ignored. There is a cultural myth that spanking may
sometimes be necessary."
The bill has sparked a debate in the Bay State. Evelyn Reilly, of the
Massachusetts Family Institute, said parents -- not lawmakers --
should decide when to spank.
"Many children need to know there is someone in charge," she said. "It
gives them a sense of security to know that there is someone who is
willing, even though reluctantly, to administer a non-injurious,
judicious spanking."
Straus said if a 2-year-old sticks his hand near a hot stove, parents
should rush and grab the child, not spank him.
"Tell them you'll get hurt, don't do it," he said. "Your body language
and the tone of your voice will communicate that this is something to
not do. Swatting is likely to interfere with learning because the hurt
is coming from mom."
Plus, Straus said, it's stressful to be hit, and the experts know that
stress interferes with learning. He said there is no research to prove
that spanking is likely to interfere with or change a child's behavior.
"Parents committed to spanking will say, 'I told her not to do this and
she's doing it again and again, so I have to do something about it,'"
Straus said. Spanking is used, but not because other methods are less
effective. The problem is that it takes repetition to learn at the
toddler age.
"The recidivism rate for a 2-year-old is high," he said. "About 50
percent will repeat the behavior in two hours and 80 percent within a
day. That also applies to spanking. With a 2-year-old, nothing works,
but actually they all work; it just takes many repetitions. However,
though all work, spanking is less effective in the long run and has
harmful side effects."
Straus said legislation is needed, even with the risk of it being abused.
"We legislate lots about families that we think will be harmful,"
Straus said. "We ban marriage below a certain age because we think it's
harmful. Some women claim rape when none took place, but we still need
rape laws. People will use the law to their advantages. It's a human
characteristic, but some things we need to put up with for the larger
benefit. The problem is, people don't believe spanking is harmful."
Straus said he has reviewed parenting books for decades and, on
average, they didn't mention spanking or maybe had half a page in a
500-page book.
"And not a single one recommended not spanking," he said. "It's as
though there was a public health book that did not mention the harm of
smoking."
The research clearly shows the gains from spanking come at a big cost,
Straus said. These include weakening the tie between children and
parents and increasing the probability that the child will hit other
children or their parents and, as adults, hit a dating or marital
partner. Spanking also slows down mental development and lowers the
probability of a child doing well in school, he said.
"One would be hard-pressed to find another aspect of parenting and
child behavior where the results are so consistent," he said.
Material from The Associated Press was used in this report.

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