Spanking, risky form of child punishment —Experts

The use of the cane in behaviour modification was rampant in traditional African society. Teachers use the cane a lot to maintain discipline in schools and control the antisocial behaviour of pupils and students. Mothers and caregivers believe that spanking, one of the most common forms of child discipline, is necessary to bring up, raise or educate a child properly.

Physical punishment of children takes many forms. These punishments include spanking on the bottom with bare hand, hitting on the bottom with a hard object, slapping on the hand/arm/leg, pinching, and shaking the child.

Regardless, spanking children as a parenting technique has been a controversial issue for several decades with some parents using corporal punishment more than others. Religious fundamentalists are also more likely to believe in corporal punishment.

While corporal punishment may lead to immediate compliance, researchers have found that the changes in behaviour may only be short-term. In fact, studies consistently show that over the long term, corporal punishment is ineffective and may do more harm than good.

Notably, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) said children who experience repeated use of corporal punishment tend to develop more aggressive behaviours, increased hostility in school, and an increased risk of mental health disorders and cognitive problems.

In addition, they said aversive corrective strategies, including all forms of corporal punishment and yelling at or shaming children are minimally effective in the short term and not effective in the long term.

“Children are human; they need to be talked to rather than spanked them. They do not even understand why you are spanking them; that is what will make them hardened,” said Dr Adeyinka Labaeka, a consultant paediatrician at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Oyo State.

Though, there is a role punishment can play, he said parents can give reward and punishment only when the child understands and is taught what is good and what is bad.

Dr Labaeka said people should not have the impression that children do not understand and because of that, they do not talk to them, adding that even if punishment is to come in, it should be in moderation and  commensurate with their offence.

Dr Jibril Abdulmalik, a consultant psychiatrist, UCH, Ibadan, said the issue of a child being spanked as a form of correction is controversial, even among psychiatrists.

According to Dr Abdulmalik, “Children are unique and different. When you spank some children, there is no problem, they take correction and they are fine. Some other children, anytime they offend and you beat them, the lesson they then take from it is that anytime somebody does what you do not like, you physically beat the person

“It is like a child growing up in a family where anytime the mother disagrees with the father, the father slaps the mother and the mother keeps quiet.

“Some children may watch that and say I do not like my mummy to be treated this way and it is not nice for daddy because he is bigger to be beating mummy. Some other children will say okay it works well. It helps you have your way so, I will also try it out. He then becomes more aggressive and turns out a bully.”

Moreover, Dr Abdulmalik said what studies have shown to be detrimental is excessive spanking, the type of beating, spanking or correction that leaves physical injuries, bruises or causes harm to the child.

“The recommendation is that don’t beat a child if you want to correct him/her. Also, if you want to spank a child, do not do it when you are angry and preferably without the use of any instrument like a shoe, whiplash or belt.

“You may end up overdoing it. Also, let the child know that it is an expression of your disapproval of his action and that you are actually correcting that,” he said.

Researchers link corporal punishment to an increased risk of negative behavioural, cognitive, psychosocial and emotional outcomes for children. Also, spanking was associated with other undesirable outcomes, including children acting out and having poor relationships with their parents, as well as being victims of physical abuse later in life.

For instance, a multitude of research studies have found that kids who are spanked are more likely to hit other people. The reason behind this is simple. Corporal punishment models aggressive behaviour, which teaches children to solve problems with violence. It also can lead to bullying, dating violence, and other problem behaviours that rely on having power over someone else.

AAP in its revised policy on corporal punishment, however, encourages parents and caregivers to use healthy forms of discipline, such as positive reinforcement of appropriate behaviours, limit setting, redirecting, and setting future expectations when correcting their children but to refrain from spanking, hitting, slapping, threatening, insulting, humiliating, or shaming.

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