https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sun, 19 Apr 2026 07:07:42 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/just-because-i-love-to-keep-you-up-to-date-on-the-spanking-literature#post-1165024 Tue, 22 Oct 2013 02:43:35 +0000 Boogs 1165024@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Jacks: Such a great article! Would have loved to have this article in college when I was doing research and writing a research paper on this same topic. ;) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/just-because-i-love-to-keep-you-up-to-date-on-the-spanking-literature#post-1164948 Tue, 22 Oct 2013 00:12:08 +0000 deactivated_account 1164948@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Jacks: the lasting effect that arm pinching had on me was to not sass my mom or embarrass her in public. And I certainly never laughed in my dad's face while being punished again. I learned quick!! Sassing my mom in the bathroom in the morning was also no good. She'd smack my sister and I with her plastic hair brush. Yet somehow, that is a memory that my sister and I laugh about so much nowadays. Her and I were really such good kids. I loved our upbringing. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/just-because-i-love-to-keep-you-up-to-date-on-the-spanking-literature#post-1164902 Mon, 21 Oct 2013 23:18:55 +0000 Mrs. Jacks 1164902@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MrsMcD: I don't know, but if imagine any physical violence would send a similar message, just to a greater or lesser extent.</p> <p>I remember the episode that had the most impact on me wasn't even a spank and some might categorize it as "milder"... But it has had a lasting effect. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/just-because-i-love-to-keep-you-up-to-date-on-the-spanking-literature#post-1164899 Mon, 21 Oct 2013 23:11:56 +0000 AprilFool 1164899@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Spanking made me scared of my dad and rather than never misbehave I was just terrified of him finding out. It has effected our relationship in that I could never talk to him. I never want my child to feel that way about either me or DH. No spanking in this family. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/just-because-i-love-to-keep-you-up-to-date-on-the-spanking-literature#post-1164347 Mon, 21 Oct 2013 18:06:26 +0000 deactivated_account 1164347@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Does the "no spanking" rule apply to arm pinching? I am sure I was spanked a handful of times as a kid and I even remember my dad once slapping me across the face for mouthing off. What I remember most, though, was the pinch behind my arm that my mom gave me when I acted up in public. I think that was very effective. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/just-because-i-love-to-keep-you-up-to-date-on-the-spanking-literature#post-1164318 Mon, 21 Oct 2013 17:36:55 +0000 Mrs. Jacks 1164318@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@runsyellowlites: with married at baseline and married at five years, investigators can easily calculate the rest. ( though they do specifically say that they surveyed the family structure every year, so that is taken care of...</p> <p>The rest is the things you question are all the reasons we do trials that control for things that might confound the study. </p> <p>I can safely say that this study was exquisitely well designed. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/just-because-i-love-to-keep-you-up-to-date-on-the-spanking-literature#post-1164070 Mon, 21 Oct 2013 15:35:38 +0000 erinpye 1164070@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Jacks: I &lt;3 you! I was spanked as a child. Yes, I'm fine, but I was afraid to speak up for myself until I was in my 20s. That's sad. It doesn't really matter though, anecdotes won't win over research, and the research keeps saying the same thing over and over. I think it's sort of pointless to pick at it and want to know tools used, what was said afterward, etc- it's still spanking and it's still detrimental. Period. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/just-because-i-love-to-keep-you-up-to-date-on-the-spanking-literature#post-1164034 Mon, 21 Oct 2013 15:24:37 +0000 mrsjazz 1164034@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Jacks: Thanks! I typed a long response and then realized what I wrote doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things. So I will just say thank you...I prefer research over anecdotes. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/just-because-i-love-to-keep-you-up-to-date-on-the-spanking-literature#post-1163862 Mon, 21 Oct 2013 14:27:54 +0000 googly-eyes 1163862@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Couldn't agree more with your stance on spanking...and I'll leave it there. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/just-because-i-love-to-keep-you-up-to-date-on-the-spanking-literature#post-1163827 Mon, 21 Oct 2013 14:17:17 +0000 runsyellowlites 1163827@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs. Jacks: I was able to read the full report. :) I was wondering about things I didn't see though...</p> <p>% married at baseline but NOT at 5 (only saw married at baseline AND at 5) along with other family dynamic *changes*.<br /> What was used for spanking<br /> How was spanking carried out, how reconciliation was handled<br /> Reasons for spanking, how those reasons were established</p> <p>Those are the main questions I had that I didn't see because either they weren't discussed or because I just missed them (very likely could have been me just missing them. lol). They may not make a difference to some, but I think they would..... even if you use something like time out for disciplinary action I'm sure a child knowing why they're there as opposed to yelling at them in frustration &amp; just putting them there without them understanding would make drastic differences in effectiveness &amp; outcomes. I figure the same difference in how one carries out spanking would be pertinent to long-term outcomes. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/just-because-i-love-to-keep-you-up-to-date-on-the-spanking-literature#post-1163819 Mon, 21 Oct 2013 14:14:26 +0000 Mrsbells 1163819@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I was spanked and a lot of people i know were spanked. It didnt affect me negatively or them either. Personally i think it can be effective but it depends on how it is done. Many people think of spanking aggressively hitting the child but that ss not it at all. For me it was a very effective punished as a child, I'm not a violent person, never been in a fight nor am I bitter about it.</p> <p>Personally I think with the way a lot of children behave these days, a little spanking would do them some good. Not every child responds to just time outs and being told off </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/just-because-i-love-to-keep-you-up-to-date-on-the-spanking-literature#post-1163813 Mon, 21 Oct 2013 14:11:16 +0000 Mrs. Champagne 1163813@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Thanks for posting! LO is not here yet, but I think we are firmly in the no spank camp, so I sent this to DH to read as well. :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/just-because-i-love-to-keep-you-up-to-date-on-the-spanking-literature#post-1163812 Mon, 21 Oct 2013 14:11:06 +0000 Honeybee 1163812@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm always glad to see strong research cited in posts like these! :)</p> <p>I was spanked as a kid, too, and while I was a very good kid, I don't feel like spanking affected me much (either for the better or for the worse). Regardless of my own experience with spanking, though, I think the risk of spanking my own children is just too great. Maybe my kids would react as I did to spanking, but there's a greater risk that I would be doing more damage than good by spanking. I just can't justify taking that kind of a chance with my kids, which is why I'm always happy to see research backing up this decision! :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/just-because-i-love-to-keep-you-up-to-date-on-the-spanking-literature#post-1163792 Mon, 21 Oct 2013 14:05:17 +0000 Mrs. Jacks 1163792@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@runsyellowlites: You probably can see the whole study, though I can (have access to the article). They did a wonderful job controlling for a number of factors.</p> <p>Child-Level Control Variables<br /> Five child-level demographic variables<br /> were included in themodels: gender, age<br /> in months, low birth weight indicator<br /> (,2500 g), if child was first born, and<br /> mother’s report about the infant’s temperament<br /> assessed at age 1. The temperament<br /> measure used 3 items rated<br /> on a 5-point scale (“not at all” to “very<br /> much”): whether the child often fusses<br /> or cries, is easily upset, and reacts<br /> strongly when upset. The responses are<br /> summed to derive 1 score (range 3–15,<br /> with 15 indicating a highly difficult temperament),<br /> and the measure has been<br /> used to predict earlier spanking behavior<br /> in this data set.10 Table 1 provides<br /> descriptive statistics for all controls.<br /> Maternal and Family Characteristics<br /> The next set of controls focus on maternal<br /> and family characteristics that<br /> are key to understanding the potential<br /> risk and protective factors in the child’s<br /> environment. These include a continuous<br /> variable for the mother’s age at<br /> the time of the birth (in years); the<br /> family marital structure over the<br /> 9-year period, from baseline to the age<br /> 9 phone interview; the mother’s racial<br /> or ethnic affiliation (these include white,<br /> non-Hispanic; black, non-Hispanic; Hispanic;<br /> and other, comprising Asian Pacific<br /> Islander and American Indian); the<br /> mother’s level of education at baseline;<br /> household income-to-needs ratio at<br /> baseline (ie, the household’s annual income<br /> divided by the relevant family size<br /> poverty line level); maternal foreign-born<br /> status; a dummy variable for whether<br /> the mother reported living with both her</p> <p>parents when she herself was 15 years<br /> of age; whether the mother was<br /> employed in the week before the age 9<br /> phone interview; the number of other<br /> adults living in the household at age 9;<br /> and the number of other children living<br /> in the household at 9 years of age.<br /> Prenatal Risks<br /> Four variables measure factors from<br /> the prenatal period: late onset of prenatal<br /> care (if carewasinitiated after the<br /> first trimester or not initiated at all),<br /> risky health behavior (if the mother<br /> reported either smoking, taking any<br /> drugs, ormoderate to heavy alcohol use<br /> during pregnancy), whether themother<br /> reported intimate partner violence<br /> (IPV) at the hands of the father before<br /> the child’s birth, and mother’s rating of<br /> the birth father’s supportiveness during<br /> pregnancy based on 4 questions.</p> <p>Maternal Risk Factors<br /> The next 4 control variables capture<br /> factors reported by the mother that<br /> may be associated with increased risk<br /> for both maternal spanking and child<br /> developmental problems.<br /> Mother’s parenting stress at age 5 was<br /> measured by using a 16-point scale<br /> based on 4 items from the Panel Study<br /> of Income Dynamics–Child Development<br /> Supplement’s Aggravation in Parenting<br /> Scale.22 Items are measured on a 4-<br /> point scale ascertaining the extent to<br /> which the mother agrees that being<br /> a parent is harder than she expected,<br /> she feels trapped by her responsibilities<br /> as a parent, she finds taking care of her<br /> children much more work than pleasure,<br /> and she often feels tired,worn out,<br /> or exhausted from raising a family. The<br /> scale is coded such that a higher score<br /> indicates lower levels of parental<br /> stress, and it has been shown to predict<br /> harsh parenting of preschoolers in this<br /> data set.10<br /> Mother’smental health riskwas assessed<br /> by symptoms indicating depression or<br /> generalized anxiety disorder at any of the<br /> interviews where these concerns were<br /> included. At age 1 and 3, items assessing<br /> both depression and anxiety were included,<br /> whereas at ages 5 and 9, the<br /> interviews contained only items pertaining<br /> to depression. Maternal depressive<br /> symptoms are measured using<br /> an 8-point scale drawn from the Composite<br /> International Diagnostic Interview–<br /> Short Form (CIDI-SF)23 and<br /> scored by assigning 1 point for each affirmative<br /> response. The CIDI-SF depression<br /> measure has been widely used<br /> in previous research and can be coded<br /> as a dichotomous measure of major<br /> depression “caseness” for scores of 3 or<br /> higher.Mothers’symptoms of anxiety are<br /> measured by using the CIDI-SF for generalized<br /> anxiety disorder.24 The stem<br /> conditions coupled with affirmative<br /> responses on at least 3 physiologic<br /> symptoms result in the respondent being<br /> coded with potential generalized anxiety<br /> disorder.25 Finally, we create a single<br /> summary mental health flag variable,<br /> which we set to 1 if the mother is identified<br /> as potentially suffering from either<br /> depression or anxiety at any point in<br /> time, and 0 otherwise.<br /> Mother’s impulsivity was based on 2<br /> questions asked in the age 5 phone<br /> interview about whether she often says<br /> or does things without considering the<br /> consequences and whether she often<br /> gets in trouble for acting before thinking.<br /> 26 The response options use a 4-<br /> point scale, with a resulting score<br /> range from 2 to 8, where the higher the<br /> score, the less impulsive is the mother.<br /> Mother’s cognitive level is based on<br /> a modified version of the Similarities<br /> subtest of theWechsler Adult Intelligence<br /> Subscale–Revised (WAIS-R) administered<br /> to the mother at year 3. This subtest<br /> asks the respondent to identify how 2<br /> objects or concepts are comparable. The<br /> values of the modified subscale for the<br /> mother range from 0 (lowest functioning)<br /> to 15 (highest functioning).<br /> The final variable in this group is the<br /> measure of mother’s frequency of potentially<br /> cognitively stimulating activities<br /> with the child at age 1. Specifically,<br /> the age 1 phone interview includes<br /> items asking the mother howmany days<br /> a week she played peek-a-boo with her<br /> child, sang songs or nursery rhymes to<br /> her child, and read to her child. The<br /> positive parenting score reflects the<br /> average of the mother’s responses to<br /> these items. The values, then, range<br /> from 0 (the mother reports never doing<br /> any of these things with her child) to 7<br /> (the mother reports doing all of these<br /> things every day with her child).</p> <p>But sure... there is always a risk that a study has been poorly done. I'm pretty confident that this one wasn't! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/just-because-i-love-to-keep-you-up-to-date-on-the-spanking-literature#post-1163772 Mon, 21 Oct 2013 13:57:52 +0000 runsyellowlites 1163772@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I always wonder what entails "spanking" and how spanking/discipline is handled when reading these. I know they factor in alot of things, but how does implementing differ from one family to the next &amp; I wonder if there are difference between the families because of their differences in implementation. Also, I wasn't able to see if marital status changed from "married" to "divorce" in the time frame of the study which I'd imagine could also greatly affect how a child's aggression &amp; demeanor change regardless of disciplinary action...</p> <p>I know when we were spanked growing up it normally included some sort of yelling/frustration, being left to "think about it", not always knowing what the offense was, etc.... of course each time was different &amp; didn't all entail the same factors each time, but I'd be apt to wonder if there is no yelling, "thinking about it", and clear boundaries if the same results would ensue.</p> <p>I always read about higher aggressiveness, more discipline problems, etc, but haven't been able to see any of those IRL. Then again, we have clear cut boundaries that don't change day to day or per our moods, yelling/anger aren't part of our of disciplinary actions, and spanking as always been very minimal. At 9, and really always, G certainly hasn't been more aggressive than his peers and has always been a really "good" kid. His bio dad wasn't around in those span of years so the "paternal spanking" wouldn't be relevant in the cognitive aspects, but spanking has always become less &amp; less done in our home as opposed to more &amp; more due to the "bad" behaviors not happening anymore.</p> <p>I'm certainly not trying to dismiss it's merit, it just always makes me wonder on what is actually being done &amp; tracked and if there could be difference not just in the spanking vs. not, but in how a family handles giving disciplinary action. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/just-because-i-love-to-keep-you-up-to-date-on-the-spanking-literature#post-1163726 Mon, 21 Oct 2013 13:42:03 +0000 Boheme 1163726@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Thank you! I find these very helpful in assisting DH to see the light! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/just-because-i-love-to-keep-you-up-to-date-on-the-spanking-literature#post-1163692 Mon, 21 Oct 2013 13:31:19 +0000 Mrs. Jacks 1163692@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@HLK208: You and your husband are exactly why I continue to post articles such as these :)</p> <p>I was a spanked kid. My parents didn't know any better. Sure I turned out fine, but it took an emotional toll. I want to help people avoid that same experience that I had. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/just-because-i-love-to-keep-you-up-to-date-on-the-spanking-literature#post-1163683 Mon, 21 Oct 2013 13:28:08 +0000 HLK208 1163683@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Thanks for sharing. After showing DH a lot of the articles on spanking that have been shared on HB, it changed his mind. Although, we can't take back the few times that we did spank DS. We haven't spanked in over a year and honestly, he seems less aggressive than some of his preschool friends who's parents DO spank regularly. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/just-because-i-love-to-keep-you-up-to-date-on-the-spanking-literature#post-1163668 Mon, 21 Oct 2013 13:22:47 +0000 stargal 1163668@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>:happy: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/just-because-i-love-to-keep-you-up-to-date-on-the-spanking-literature#post-1163615 Mon, 21 Oct 2013 13:04:11 +0000 jmarionsmith 1163615@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>i always love articles validating our decision not to spank! thanks! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/just-because-i-love-to-keep-you-up-to-date-on-the-spanking-literature#post-1163608 Mon, 21 Oct 2013 13:01:38 +0000 Mrs. Jacks 1163608@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>The evidence keeps piling up that spanking leads to worse outcomes. There is not one study that I can think of to say that any outcomes are BETTER with spanking, but here's another showing worse outcomes:</p> <p><a href="http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/10/21/spankings-link-to-bad-behavior/?_r=1&#038;amp" rel="nofollow">http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/10/21/spankings-link-to-bad-behavior/?_r=1&#038;amp</a>; </p>