Staci Larsen, on Oct. 18, condones corporal punishment as a disciplinary measure for children. Her comment, "I was spanked as a child," tells it all. People who have had the misfortune of being beaten as children cannot recognize that they have bonded to violence. That is the way this cycle of abuse perpetuates itself.
I personally know of another misguided person who also felt it appropriate to spank his child for misbehaving. The infraction? The child was wetting the bed. It is doubtful that this man is capable of seeing how monstrous his violent actions were in this case.
The American Academy of Pediatrics advises parents to reinforce positive behaviors and to remember "discipline is not punishment." The AAP calls corporal punishment "of limited effectiveness" and warns of "potentially deleterious side effects." The more children are spanked, the more aggressive they are likely to become.
A new study finds that low-income parents and others under a lot of stress believe in the harshest discipline and often assume that their children misbehave intentionally, so they spank them without batting an eye.
Incidentally, nowhere is there any widespread permission ("spare the rod and spoil the child") to beat children. A few isolated texts have been made into an elaborately constructed institution. And a sick one at that.
Dennis Kostecki
Holladay