January
16, 2002
University of Minnesota, Children, Youth & Family Consortium
News
Release
For
immediate release
Contact:
Children, Youth and Family Consortium, 1-612-625-7849
For
specific information on the Goodhue County study, please contact:
Kathleen Olson, U of MN Extension Service Goodhue County,
651-385-3100
Link
for References and further University resources
Parents
Struggle Over Spanking
Whether
or not they should spank their children is a hard choice for
many parents.To complicate the matter further, decisions about
spanking are often based on beliefs very near and dear to
adults: their deeply held values, family history, and their
own experiences.
Faculty
in various departments at the University of Minnesota have
been researching and writing about physical punishment for
several years. There is consensus among them on a number of
issues.
First,
spanking isn't very effective in stopping or changing behavior. Although "a swat on the backside"
may end the offending behavior temporarily, over the long
haul, children learn more about avoidance and fear than they
do about what is appropriate behavior.
In
fact, there are many other parenting "tools" that
work better and have less potential negative impact on kids
than physical punishment. A few of them are:
-
Be
very clear about your expectations of behavior.
Set limits and enforce them.
No spanking does not mean no discipline.
-
Limit
the number of rules, based on what's really important,
then monitor children's behavior and when the rules
are broken, impose consequence immediately.
-
Reinforce
children's good behavior. "Catch them being good."
-
Be
as consistent as possible about your expectations
and consequences.
A
second area of consensus is that spanking, combined with a
parent's stress, anger or rage, has the potential to spin
out of control, and become physical abuse. And finally, spanking sends two very negative
messages that are contrary to what most parents want to teach
their children: hitting
is a way to solve problems; and it's okay for a powerful person
to use physical force on a less powerful person. Ron Pitzer,
retired Extension Family sociologist with the University of
Minnesota Extension Service, says, "If you hit your children,
it will be very difficult to teach them not to hit others
because they have experienced it from the most important person
in their lives."For the last eight years, Goodhue County
has been a "laboratory" of research about parenting
practices and attitudes regarding physical punishment.
The
University of Minnesota's Extension Service in Goodhue County,
in partnership with researchers and a number of other Goodhue
County agencies, has followed a group of parents and documented
changes in their attitudes and practices about spanking. Pitzer
coordinated the project. At the same time, Goodhue County's
Kids: Handle With Care initiative has conducted an intensive county-wide public awareness and educational
campaign focusing on the message that it is never okay to
hit a child, including spanking.
Among the programs they have offered are Positive Parenting
(a state-wide Extension Service program), Circle of Respect,
Answers for Anger, No More Bullies, Peace Talks, Solving Problems
Peacefully, and No Hit Days. The findings over the
eight years of research show considerable change on the part
of parents.
A
few of the highlights are:
-
The
use of physical punishment by Goodhue County parents
dropped from 36% to 12% during the time of the study.
-
Parents
who spanked their children reported a considerable
increase in their children's aggressiveness by the
end of the study.
-
Parents
who reduced physical punishment reported their children
were less aggressive.
-
Parents
who attended classes reported changes in both their
own parenting behavior, and their children's behavior.
-
Parents
were better at setting limits and enforcing consequences,
and they were more calm, more nurturing, better listeners
and more positive about their parenting, overall.
-
Parents
reported their children were more compliant, communicated
more openly, had a better attitude, and were calmer.
Most
child development experts advise against physical punishment
for the reasons outlined above.
Those who do support it do so only with guidelines
about very limited severity and use. Goodhue County has shown that an intense,
sustained, widespread educational effort and community support
can help parents in making this and other very difficult parenting
decisions.
For
references and further University resources on this topic,
the Children, Youth and Family Consortium
has developed this list:
