Applying Psychological Science, Benefiting Society
How do religious beliefs impact parents’ views of physical discipline? Parents’ support for using physical punishment with their children varies, to some degree, by religious affiliation. For Christian parents in particular, various factors influence approaches to physical discipline.
No person has a “right” to strike another, no matter how close the relationship. I remember fifty years ago seeing a mother chase her child with a stick, shouting “I brought you into this world and I can put you in the cemetery!” Luckily, the child was faster than his mother. But the idea of a “right” to hit a child is no laughing matter.
Even in the best of circumstances, parenting is super hard work and takes tremendous patience. When we have so many other concerns in life and then we add in a child who is misbehaving, it is tempting to give the child a smack. But let me tell you what the research shows: Spanking does not achieve our parenting goals.
Psychologist, George Holden, shares 5 useful analogies from sedimentary rocks for why parents physically punish their children.
Psychology Benefits Society 