Child development specialists expressed shock that, despite strong evidence to the contrary, a Missouri school system is bringing back paddling as a form of discipline.
According to Allison Jackson, MD, a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Child Abuse and Neglect, “So much research has been done over the years that suggests that corporal punishment is damaging to children.”
She claims that the announcement by Cassville Public Schools to resume corporal punishment after a 21-year absence represents a “turning backward.”
Merlyn Johnson, the superintendent of Cassville Public Schools, reportedly stated that a recent poll of the school system revealed that teachers, parents, and students were concerned about disciplinary concerns. Some parents suggested using corporal punishment as a last resort, but only when all other options had failed and with the parents’ or carers’ permission.
Evidence of Damages
In response to inquiries regarding the district’s choice, organisations including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Psychological Association, the American Medical Association, the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine, the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners, and the American Academy of Family Physicians emphasised their steadfast opposition to corporal punishment in educational settings.
These groups cited decades’ worth of studies that shown smacking kids doesn’t encourage learning or enhance conduct; on the contrary, it can backfire by encouraging more aggressive behaviour, academic difficulties, and bodily harm.
According to a 2016 research from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, pupils who are Black, male, or have impairments are more frequently subjected to physical punishment in American schools. According to the research, corporal punishment is viewed as a breach of international human rights.
At the district’s resurgence of corporal punishment, Southern Methodist University’s George Holden, PhD, professor emeritus of psychology, says he was “discouraged, but not shocked.” Even though it is less common in public schools, 19 states still allow corporal punishment.
According to the 2016 study, 14% of school districts utilised physical punishment, and during the 2011–12 academic year, 163,333 pupils attended public schools where it was administered. In the Southeast, corporal punishment is most prevalent. In Alabama, Mississippi, and Arkansas, half of all students attend schools that engage in the practise.
Only two states, New Jersey and Iowa, have laws prohibiting corporal punishment in private schools, according to the research.
According to Jackson, Holden, and other specialists, mindsets are difficult to alter, and those who experienced physical abuse from their parents as children may be protective or dismissive of criticism. According to the experts, some educators and parents may think that physical punishment is effective since it momentarily stops undesirable conduct.
Abandoning Physical Force
However, according to Holden, president of the non-profit U.S. Alliance to End the Hitting of Children, more schools are moving away from allowing teachers to use corporal punishment and are instead utilising restorative practises, team-based problem-solving, and positive behavioural interventions and supports.
Many districts now claim that corporal punishment is employed as a last resort, which was not the case in previous decades, according to FredericMedway, PhD, a professor emeritus of psychology at the University of South Carolina.
However, he asserts that unless families quit using it, he doubts that schools will abandon corporal punishment.
Jackson, who is in charge of the Child and Adolescent Protection Center at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, DC, says doctors can be crucial in intervening with new parents. She advises doctors to provide advice and ask new caregivers how they intend to handle problematic behaviours.
According to Medway, well-child checkups should evaluate any behaviours that would necessitate punishment, such as impulsivity and defiance of authority, which can be resolved with early mental health therapy and parenting advice.
Effective Discipline to Raise Healthy Children, a publication from the Academy of Pediatrics, outlines alternatives to physical punishment and advises physicians to provide parents with behaviour management techniques and referrals to neighborhood resources like parenting groups, classes, and mental health services. On its website, the academy also provides parenting advice.
Medical practitioners can “use their voices” to contribute to local, state, and federal policy discussions about the health effects of corporal punishment on adolescents, according to Alison Culyba MD, PhD, head of the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine’s Violence Prevention Committee.
