According to a meta-analysis of seventy-five studies conducted by Elizabeth T. Gershoff and Andrew Grogan-Kaylor, spanking is detrimental to a child’s development. There are many known negative effects of spanking children that affect a person from childhood through adulthood. The only positive outcome of spanking that was discussed in this study was more immediate compliance from children. It is no wonder that the effectiveness and appropriateness of spanking is commonly debated in today’s society because eighty percent of children in all cultures are spanked. It is troubling that there is an abundant amount of research that proves spanking is detrimental to children but it is still a commonly used discipline tactic by parents. I would not recommend spanking as a form of discipline to new parents because it has been determined through a …show more content…
However, it is still a widely used disciplinary strategy by parents. A parent may question this meta-analysis based on his or her own reasoning that if spanking is as detrimental as the research claims, then why is used commonly across cultures. Parents associate spanking with more immediate compliance from their children and therefore continue to use it without knowing the long-term effects it will have on children. In addition to research that proves spanking is detrimental to children, there is research that claims physical punishment is effective under certain circumstances. This research leads parents to believe that spanking does not have negative effects which is not accurate. Parents continue to use spanking when disciplining their child without realizes how they are affecting their child’s future. Parents have the right to determine the methods they want to use when raising their children, however, parents should be well educated on the effects of the parenting techniques they