Skip to Main Content

Spanked: How Hitting Our Children is Harming Ourselves

Online ISBN:
9780197673706
Print ISBN:
9780197518236
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
Book

Spanked: How Hitting Our Children is Harming Ourselves

Christina L. Erickson
Christina L. Erickson
Professor, Social Work and Environmental Studies, Augsberg University
Find on
Published online:
22 September 2022
Published in print:
22 October 2022
Online ISBN:
9780197673706
Print ISBN:
9780197518236
Publisher:
Oxford University Press

Abstract

Tracing the history of spanking from our earliest records, the trail of spankings’ influence on society and individuals is explored. The book covers the slow transition from the whip and rod to the hand, the first questioning of spankings’ utility, and the inception of spanking stigma. Stories of religion, school paddling, and the development of child protection in the United States highlight historical factors on the edges of spanking and show their connections to our modern conundrum—why do we hit people smaller than us who we love so much? To understand the real meaning of spanking, the book explores the private lives of family and the public sphere of our social lives. Spanking has been a common and accepted discipline for hundreds of years. Filled with stories of families, researchers, and community organizers, the book helps us see varied angles of family spanking we have avoided for far too long. The research outcomes on spanking are causal and clear, and the data have been repeated in many studies. Brain research, parent child synchrony, touch, trauma, and communication all lead us to new understandings of spanking’s impact on adults and children alike. Maybe most important of all is the question never asked before: Is spanking a child good for the parent? Book group questions and prompts for organizations and professionals provide a framework for conversation and dialogue. A rich appendix includes laws on physical discipline from each state, laws on school paddling, and corporal punishment laws around the world.

Contents
Close
This Feature Is Available To Subscribers Only

Sign In or Create an Account

Close

This PDF is available to Subscribers Only

View Article Abstract & Purchase Options

For full access to this pdf, sign in to an existing account, or purchase an annual subscription.

Close