To Spank or not to Spank, that is the Question

To spank or not to spank.

According to a study published in the journal Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, nearly “80 percent of kids are spanked at least once by fifth grade.”

What Is Spanking?

What is spanking? Spanking is the act of striking a child’s buttocks with an open hand, a belt, or paddling with an object. Spanking with a bare hand is the most common form of spanking and a belt follows as the second most common. Anti-spanking advocates go as far as to say that a tap on the hand of a child reaching for something hot can be considered a form of spanking.

What spanking is not?

Spanking is not child abuse. Spanking is not a form of physical abuse but a form of discipline.

Most anti-spanking advocates compare spanking to child abuse. Certainly there are those who cross the line when spanking, one current example involves Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson. To paint every parent who disciplines their child as a child abuser would be unfair.

How is a parent supposed to resist spanking when high profile mothers admit to spanking their children. Both First Lady’s Michelle Obama and Laura Bush admitted to spanking their daughters — a democrat and a republican respectively.