Can you beat children: According to psychologists
A Life / / December 19, 2019
Around corporal punishment conducted a fierce debate. whether they are acceptable in principle? If acceptable, in what form? There is no unity either among experts or among parents. Try to understand what is said on the subject, scientists and psychologists practice.
Corporal punishment - one of the oldest and most controversial methods of education. However, it has become controversial recently. Up until the mid XX century, spanking, cuffs and even a belt or a stick in the hands of the parents did not cause almost no one objection, if not applied to the child's health irreparable harm. Only after the 1946 book by a famous pediatrician Benjamin Spock (Benjamin Spock) «The child and care for "their parents' attention has shifted from the maintenance of discipline in the formation of personality child. A first scientific study of the effectiveness and consequences of corporal punishment began in the 60s.
Since then, psychologists have conducted more than a dozen different studies, and the results strongly suggest: corporal punishment - it is bad
method of education. Increased aggressiveness and propensity for violence, the deterioration of the parent-child relationship, anxiety and depression, increased risk of obesity, reduced intelligence - this is an incomplete list of the negative effects of corporal punishment. In 2002, psychologist Elizabeth Gershoff (Elizabeth Gershoff) summarized the results of 27 papers. That's what she got.the effect | number of studies | confirmed |
Poor absorption of moral norms | 15 | 87% |
increased aggression | 27 | 100% |
antisocial behavior | 13 | 92% |
The deterioration of relations between parents and children | 13 | 100% |
The deterioration of mental health | 12 | 100% |
Education "victim complex" | 10 | 100% |
Disobedience | 6 | 66% |
»
Rate of 100% means that the effect of all the researchers found, without exception. It is noteworthy that corporal punishment were totally unsuitable for the education of moral qualities. The only positive result of the use of physical punishment psychologists call an immediate obedience. However, there flogging and spanking have not shown any advantages over other methods - for example, to put in a corner. But over time the degree of obedience significantly reduced.
140 from the joint statement of the European organizationsAttempts to find acceptable forms of corporal punishment of children are inappropriate and impractical. Strikes - is a lesson in bad behavior.
It would seem that the issue is solved. But not all so simple. Firstly, many of these studies have been criticized for shortcomings in methodology and bias of the authors (all of them turned out to be opponents of corporal punishment). Second, adverse effects stably detected in families where bito is usual and frequent. And the more and more parents beat children, so much the worse. Diana Baumrind (Diana Baumrind) from the University of Berkeley studying corporal punishment in 134 families for 12 years. And in cases where children are rarely slapped, no adverse effects were not.
Domestic psychologist and sociologist I. FROM. Cohn studied psychology arguments that allow physical impact. They call on the distinguished instant reaction parents on undesirable behavior and deferred time penalty. Slap may well be a form of negative reinforcement, an unpleasant consequence of the prohibited acts. But the practice of punishing children when, after the commission of the offense is already time passed, does not work.
Psychologists who do not support a complete ban on corporal punishment, connect them with the use of a number of conditions.
- health safety. This criterion is so severe that the only acceptable forms will be slapping his hand on the buttocks or extremities.
- The frequency of application. The less frequently used corporal punishment, the higher the efficiency. In any case, this method must not be the usual and customary.
- lack of indignities. You can not beat a child in public. This applies to any penalties.
- No delay. Slap must coincide with the undesirable action and interrupt it. If you find a misdemeanor after some time, smacking a child is not only senseless, but also harmful. Even greater harm caused punishment "for prevention."
- Explanation. The child should be clear, for that he had been punished. Explaining offer parents an alternative to punishable behavior.
- Age of the child. There is no clear framework, but most psychologists agree that one can not apply physical punishment of up to two years and nine years, they should be completely excluded.
But even with all these conditions, corporal punishment is not more effective than other methods of education. In the younger age exactly the same effect as a slap, has a loud shout. At older ages, the alternatives are standing in the corner or the deprivation of something pleasant.
From parents can often hear: "What would you do if he / she is ..." - and then transfer the terrible misdeeds. Unfortunately, the ready-made answers to all these questions do not exist. There are no universal recipes. And there is no evidence that this is a recipe for "thrash". But there are many ways to get the obedience of the child, without resorting to violence.
And how do you feel about corporal punishment?