In life, there are many issues where people fall into one camp or the other; the middle, gray area is largely unpopulated.
Issues like abortion, gun control and public smoking bans come to mind.
Spanking children is another such issue.
We know studies have shown spanking is one of the worst forms of negative reinforcement and has been shown by studies to be ineffective at curbing the behaviors it means to address.
The line from spanking to child abuse is also blurry, and largely comes from self-defined statuses. To one person, spanking is a valid form of punishment; to another, it is always child abuse, regardless of circumstance.
Our Editorial Board was split on this issue, and both sides presented seemingly equally valid arguments.
Some of us were spanked as children and felt we learned a great deal from the experiences. We might shudder every time we see a wooden spoon or a switch now, but we think, overall, the spanking helped more than it hurt.
Some us were spanked and found it to be a negative experience, one that caused the negative effects the research studies continue to focus on.
And, finally, some of us were not spanked, and could provide insight into the other punishment forms like the stern parental lecture or the "Let's talk about our feelings" chat.
We discussed the issue seriously, and there were some points we did agree on.
If you must spank a child, the spanking should not be done in isolation. The spanking should be accompanied by an explanation of why the spanking has occurred.
Spanking without explanation or reason certainly borders on child abuse, and may actually be so.
Without the explanation, the child doesn't know what they did to provoke such a violent response from their parent, and they could begin to live in constant fear of awakening that rage again.
The child may also begin to think violence is a way to deal with situations, and that child may become violent in his or her dealings with other children.
Violence begets violence.
We know this. It's Biblical.
There is a real, legitimate fear that continuing the practice of spanking will breed a cycle of physical and psychological damage that may never be undone.
Think before you spank your children. You don't really know what it may do.
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