Some parents try to distinguish spanking from hitting, defending that the former is an act of discipline while the latter is a form of violence.
However, a recent study done by Yale University psychology professor Dr. Alan Kazdin found that spanking does not help in disciplining and teaching a child, nor does it help in making them listen and obey.
Dr. Kazdin, who is also the director of the Yale Parenting Center and Child Conduct Clinic, said that parents cannot punish out the behaviors of a child that they do not want. "There is no need for corporal punishment based on the research. We are not giving up an effective technique. We are saying this is a horrible thing that does not work," he confirmed, speaking to the American Psychological Association.
"You don't need spanking to change behavior," Kazdin said. "It is not effective at all. It increases aggression in children, has emotional consequences."
Other studies have also found that spanking causes more harm than good. In 2006, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child issued a directive, calling physical punishment "legalized violence against children". The UN committee aimed to eliminate such practice through educational and legal processes.
Currently, thirty countries worldwide have banned spanking in all settings. Such bans are not seen as threats against parents but as instruments that help educate them on better ways to discipline a child.
Murray Straus, author of the book Primordial Violence, says that more than 100 studies have identified the side effects of spanking. Although spanking temporarily corrects misbehavior, it comes at a big cost. According to Straus, it weakens the ties between parents and children and increases the probability of a child hitting other children, and hitting a dating or marital partner in adulthood. Spanking also delays mental development and affects a child's performance in school.