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Hitting children is wrong. 
... https://twitter.com/briandavidearp/status/1295148839763156992
... https://twitter.com/briandavidearp/status/1295148839763156992
One of the difficult issues in discussing the adverse effects of corporal punishment is that we must disentangle it from child abuse. 1/
Yet careful research for over 2 decades has done just this and found numerous adverse outcomes associated with physical punishment. 2/
Living in the US, spanking seems like the norm and it was hard to believe the first time I read that 59 countries have BANNED spanking! 
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So why is it so normal here? Why would people oppose a ban on violence against children? Some of it has to do with religious and cultural beliefs, including the desire to prevent a 'nanny state.' 4/
Not mentioned in this article, but I imagine beliefs about "freedom" play a role in the US...Physical punishment is very common. Some US stats. Slapping a hand: 1-year-old 21%, 2-year-old 31%. Spanking: 1-year-old 14%, 2-year-old 45% (Vittrup, Holden, Buck, 2006) 5/
Other studies report 26% spank 3-4-year-olds (Regalado et al., 2004). 80% of parents report spanking their child by the time they're in kindergarten (Gershof et al. 2012) 6/
An additional concern about the use of spanking is that it is associated with an increased risk of escalating to child maltreatment. ~65-75% of
abuse cases were initiated as corporal punishment
(Gershoff, 2010). 7/
abuse cases were initiated as corporal punishment
(Gershoff, 2010). 7/
Children learn from corporal punishment that violence is an appropriate solution. Physical punishment is associated with aggression in children & teens (Berlin et al. 2009; Gershoff et al. 2012, Lansford et al. 2015) & with adult intimate partner violence Afifi et al, 2017) 8/
Do bans on spanking work? Preliminary evidence says yes.
Sweden outlawed spanking in 1971 and in the many decades since, parents are unlikely to spank (decrease from 90% to <10%). Of course certain factors likely limit the generalizability (e.g. cultural norms and education) 9/
Sweden outlawed spanking in 1971 and in the many decades since, parents are unlikely to spank (decrease from 90% to <10%). Of course certain factors likely limit the generalizability (e.g. cultural norms and education) 9/
How was Sweden so effective? They had widespread education and anti-spanking campaigns. Laws alone are not enough without effective and continual education about the effects of corporal punishment & teaching proper alternatives 10/
We need increased advocacy to stop corporal punishment. While effective in the short term, it is clear that it is associated with neg outcomes. Further, not a single study has demonstrated that physical punishment is beneficial to a child (Grogan-Kaylor et al, 2018) 11/
What can you do? Discuss alternative effective practices with parents, partner with anti-corporal punishment advocacy groups, work with pediatric associations to get recommendations changed, write government officials. 12/
If nothing else, simply reflect on why we see it as acceptable to be violent to children, but we jail people for the same exact behavior if directed at an adult. What moral gymnastics are we doing to make hitting children seem ok? End
P.S. Not just an issue with parents but also our educational institutions (thanks for sharing @Lilybirdlifts) https://twitter.com/Lilybirdlifts/status/1295156977039892481?s=19
