Experts: Ban on spanking a waste

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Corporal punishment gives a child the wrong message, behavior experts say.

By SEAN BARRON

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

When it comes to disciplining her two children, ages 1 and 3, Tonya Bunkley relies on a timeout method that she says is effective in getting them to stop negative behavior.

On occasion, though, Bunkley will administer one spanking but only as a last resort, she said. A single spanking can get a powerful message across to a child, but can, if used too often, lead to emotional distress and aggression toward other children, Bunkley, of Youngstown, added.

If a member of the California Assembly has her way, parents in that state who spank or inflict other means of corporal punishment on their children age 4 and under could be charged with a misdemeanor that carries a possible one-year jail sentence and a fine up to $1,000. Other types of punishment it would ban are slapping and hitting.

Assemblywoman Sally Lieber, D-Mountain View, Calif., has said such a law is necessary because spanking "victimizes helpless youngsters and breeds violence in society." Aides to Lieber have said they're still trying to work out a precise definition for spanking.

Some opponents say the legislation amounts to an abuse of parents' rights to enforce rules and exercise discipline as they see fit.

"It would be an OK law if it had some guidelines or distinctions," said Bunkley, a human resources major at Youngstown State University. "The law has to really define what lines parents can cross and what lines they can't cross."

In Ohio

The consensus among Kim Johnson, Mary Alice Boyd, Debra Demyen and Cynthia Cairns was that if the legislation became law, it would likely be nearly impossible to enforce. All four women work for the Mahoning County Educational Service Center in Boardman.

In Ohio, spanking is illegal if it leaves bruises or other marks, said Cairns, the educational service center's director of pupil services. She called the California proposal "well-intentioned but too intrusive." Often, the line between punishment and abuse is murky, and one can easily lead to the other, Cairns added.

"Spanking can be a reinforcer for the moment. It seems to work; that's the dangerous part," she said.

Johnson, project director for Help Me Grow, said her home-based parenting program is aimed at helping parents understand the various stages that are a normal part of a child's development at given ages. When parents have a firmer grip on what to expect from their youngsters, it becomes less likely the adults will misinterpret their children's difficult behavior — and use corporal punishment, she noted.

"We hear a lot of parents who are worried something is wrong with their 2-year-old like ADD [attention deficit disorder]," Johnson pointed out. "[Such toddlers] can't watch TV for a long time and can't entertain themselves that long, the parents say. Well, they can't be expected to have that long of an attention span."

Problem with spanking

Some families use corporal punishment regularly because they feel isolated with numerous sources of stress and few other ways to channel everyday frustrations, Johnson explained, adding that teaching parents how to prevent various discipline problems is more effective than dealing with children via spanking and other physical contact.

Spanking can stop the immediate challenging behavior but is usually just a momentary deterrent, added Demyen, the agency's educational supervisor for preschool education. It's imperative for parents to be loving and affectionate and establish consistent rules with their youngsters at an early age, she noted.

Though it may not be taboo, corporal punishment is less accepted in American society than 40 or 50 years ago, said Boyd, supervisor of disability services. Positive behavior is more readily rewarded now, and education has played a part; more parents are aware of other discipline methods such as timeouts, redirecting and negative reinforcement, she added.

In addition to being tough to accurately enforce, the California legislation seems to come up short of making a distinction between degrees of physical punishment, noted Denise Stewart, executive director of Mahoning County Children Services Board.

Most likely an investigation would require a witness — which would be highly improbable under the circumstances — or it would be little more than one person's word against another's, she said.

"How would an officer be able to file charges for an investigation and document proof?" Stewart asked.

Monday, February 5, 2007