Experts Reveal Spank-then-cuddle Approach Does Not Work. See Why…

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According to a study at Duke University in the US, spanking or punishment should not be followed by warmth and love as this could worsen the resulting anxiety and aggression experienced by the child.

Lead researcher, Jennifer E. Lansford, a professor at Duke’s Social Science Research Institute, says, “If you believe that you can shake your children or slap them across the face and then smooth things over gradually by smothering them with love, you are mistaken. Being very warm with a child whom you hit in this manner rarely makes things better. It can make a child more, not less, anxious.”

In the study published in the Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, Dr. Lansford and her team spoke about physical punishment with more than 1,000 children and their mothers, who represented a total of eight countries — China, Colombia, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, the Philippines, Thailand and the United States.

She describes the findings as worrying because while maternal warmth can ease the impact of light corporal punishment in children between the ages of eight and 10, the anxiety and aggression fester, regardless.

Children from countries such as Kenya and Colombia where parents are mostly authoritarian seemed to suffer less.

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She says “generally, childhood anxiety actually gets worse when parents are very loving alongside using corporal punishment,” as the combination of being physically disciplined and loved warmly might just be too bewildering for children.

What do you think?