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SALT LAKE CITY -- The research from Calvin College say kids who are spanked before the age of 6 perform better in school as teens than kids who weren't, and they are more likely to engage in volunteer work.
Psychology professor Marjorie Gunnoe told the UK Telegraph that there is little research to show that children who were never spanked fare better later in life than kids who were. However, researchers from Calvin College and here in Utah say these findings aren't a green light for abuse.
Gunnoe was quoted as saying, "I think of spanking as a dangerous tool, but there are times when there is a job big enough for a dangerous tool. You just don't use it for all your jobs."
The Children's Center Executive Director Dr. Douglas Goldsmith says, "One swat on the behind. Is that going to [cause] permanent damage? Is it going to mess them up as adults? We would be very hard pressed to say that."
But Goldsmith says spanking really isn't as effective in correcting problem behavior as some parents think.
"If the parents are expecting [the child to think about], ‘You've just done this behavior and I'm going to spank you and therefore you will never do this again, that's really not likely to occur," Goldsmith says.
Kids don't really sit and think about what they did after being spanked.
"They go to their room and think, ‘I hate them. This is mean. I'm going to get them back,'" Goldsmith says.
So, what works? If parents ask their child nicely to stop a certain behavior and they don't listen, what other tool can they use? Goldsmith says distraction is very effective.
"A child's going over to the electric socket with a knife. You could say, ‘Johnny, look at that bird outside!' and he goes running, looks outside and gets distracted," he explains.
After sleeping on it for a night, Goldsmith says parents typically don't want to spank their child for doing something wrong because they've calmed down.
E-mail: pnelson@ksl.com
