The American Academy of Pediatrics has issued guidance that corporal punishment is ineffective and can lead to mental health disorders

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

New guidance from the American Academy of Pediatrics has found that children who are spanked by their parents are more likely to develop aggressive behaviors and are at an increased risk of mental health disorders.

In a policy statement updating its advice on effective ways to discipline children, the AAP said parents should also avoid “verbal abuse” which could cause “shame or humiliation”.

“Aversive disciplinary 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,” the AAP said.

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“Researchers link corporal punishment to an increased risk of negative behavioral, cognitive, psychosocial, and emotional outcomes for children.”

The AAP had previously discouraged spanking in a 1998 policy statement, but the new report goes further in examining the ways in which spanking is detrimental.

The updated report, which offers guidance to pediatricians in the US, brings together dozens of studies into the effectiveness of corporal punishment – defined as “non-injurious, open handed hitting with the intention of modifying child behavior”.

It cited a 2014 study that found the effects of corporal punishment were “transient” – within 10 minutes of being punished 73% of children surveyed had “resumed the same behavior for which they had been punished”.

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Another study monitored about 5,000 children, from 20 large US cities, between the age of one and nine years old. It found that children “who were spanked more than twice a month were more aggressive at subsequent surveys”.

“Children who experience repeated use of corporal punishment tend to develop more aggressive behaviors, increased aggression in school, and an increased risk of mental health disorders and cognitive problems,” said Dr Robert D Sege, lead author of the AAP statement.

“In cases where warm parenting practices occurred alongside corporal punishment, the link between harsh discipline and adolescent conduct disorder and depression remained.”

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Instead, adults should reinforce appropriate behaviors, set limits, redirect children and set expectations.

The AAP suggests that instead of spanking, parents should use “positive reinforcement as a primary means of teaching acceptable behavior”.

“For example, parents can learn that young children crave attention, and telling a child, ‘I love it when you …’ is an easy means of reinforcing desired behavior,” the association advises.

It also recommends using a “time-out” when a child breaks a specific rule. “One minute per year of age is a good rule of thumb,” the AAO says.