For psychologists, physical punishment destroys children’s mental health

Both pediatricians and psychologists agree that physical punishment does a lot of damage to a child’s physical and mental health. According to a survey, 25 years ago 80% of parents spanked their children. Today, 67% do. Although the number is decreasing, there is still a long way to go.

Here in the awesome.clubwe could not fail to share with you some important information on this topic.

Physical abuse can occur in many ways. The most obvious form of punishment is hitting the little ones with the hand or some object, like a belt or something. However, this is not the only one. Other forms of physical abuse include shaking children, pulling them by their hair, slapping their ears or forcing them to remain in an uncomfortable position.

Other forced activities, like washing children’s mouths or hands, or force-feeding them something they refuse to eat, are other less obvious acts of physical abuse that many people don’t consider to be such.

However, there are also non-physical forms of abuse, including threatening, humiliating, sneering, scaring and yelling. Even if it leaves no external marks, verbal abuse is no less harmful.

One study found that children who were verbally abused before age 13 were more likely to experience depressive symptoms later in life. Even the generally affectionate relationships between children and parents cannot avoid these consequences.

Corporal punishment is the most common form of violence

First, physical punishment violates a child’s basic human rights. However, even without considering the fact, these attitudes cause direct damage to the little ones, increasing the risk of injuries. Even a “light” form of physical punishment has a high risk of escalating, as angry parents can often be unable to control themselves.

Scientists have found that abused children tend to become more aggressive later in life. Hitting little ones has the same consequences as the most serious forms of abuse. According to one study, this is the most common form of physical punishment, as 54% of children experience it.

In addition to physical damage, it also harms the child’s mental health.

These consequences remain with children and accompany them into adulthood. Several studies have proven that corporal punishment has a drastic effect on mental health, causing anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, emotional instability and various behavioral disorders.

One of the studies once again proved this to be true. In general, people who experienced more physical punishment had, on average, worse scores on mental health assessments as well as on tests of depression.

There are discipline methods considered appropriate by psychologists.

Punishment: Remove the child from the situation for a few minutes, allowing him to calm down and think about it. Then patiently talk it over and explain why what she did wasn’t nice. Remove a privilege: Leave them without watching a cartoon for a day or eating candy.

These methods are effective, as they have a long-term result on the child’s behavior. A quick time-out is all it takes to have an effect, experts say.

Did you get it when you were a kid? Do you think this left deep marks on you? Please share your opinion in the comments.