Does spanking really work?

In an article titled “The Long-Term Effects of Spanking” published on the web by Time magazine and apparently set for print on May 3, columnist Alice Park reports on a new study published by researchers at Tulane University on the correlation between spanking and aggressive behavior.

Billed as “nice hard data” by one interviewee, the study purports to be the first on the issue to take into account a host of social ills already associated with aggressive behavior. Having followed nearly 2,500 children from 3 to 5 years of age, the study now concludes that your child is 50 percent more likely to be aggressive if spanked more than twice a month.

For those of you interested in reading the article, my first objection as to its veracity is “Where are the fathers?” The article states, “Among the mothers surveyed in 20 cities….” It also says “… host of issues affecting the mother….” To me, this indicates a bias, at the very least, against the home. While it is acknowledged that our country is plagued by single-parent homes due to divorce and fornication, to conduct a study that does not include or acknowledge both parents is an endorsement in and of itself for the single-parent home and against the traditional, two-parent household. The truth is that outside of death, children are best raised by both parents in the same home, but even with death it is difficult.

My second objection is, “Why did they stop at just five years of age?” For those of you parents out there, how many of you were finished parenting in just five years? Look at the title of the article. What kind of long-term effects can be deduced in just two years? Longevity itself is a subjective term. My children once in a while use the phrase “a long time ago” and for them that might be two years, but now that I am in my 40s and measure time in decades, two years is nothing. The reality is that before credibility is given to any study of this subject, it should be extended at least into the teenage years to where young adulthood rebellion begins, if not to age 20; this, my friends, is the critical test. Parenting skills are not tested until the age where a child should be beyond the need for a spanking.

But such studies are man’s wisdom. For those of you bringing children into this world who are satisfied with how the average child is turning out, incline your ear in their direction and your child will likely turn out the same. But if as a parent you want more; if you want your child to be respectful to authority and beneficial to society; if as a Christian you want your child to be godly, then you must raise them God’s way, employing God’s methodology.

In Proverbs 13 we see God’s intended demonstration. God says, “He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.” God intends for parents to demonstrate their love for their child through chastening. You need to understand that it is love that sets boundaries of right and wrong for your child, and then enforces them. Your child needs to learn that theirs is not the decision of what right and wrong is, but God’s. Ultimately, chastisement sets up a point of reference in a child’s mind by which they come to understand that eventually they will be held accountable for their bad behavior.

But along with the demonstration there is also a presentation. Hebrews 12 tells us: “Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.”

Chastening is the seed that yields peace. It is not surprising that modern researchers would contradict the Biblical record, for they need something to blame for an increasingly violent society. Yet the truth is that social engineers have been at the helm for a long time now and the violence that we are seeing is the fruit of their philosophies, not God’s.

Folks, what really needs to happen is rather than spending more money on studies, you need to look around you and find those whose teens are a demonstration of good parenting, and inquire about their methods. I just bet their methods have roots sunk deep into the word of God.

Ron Hamman is pastor of Independent Baptist Church of Wasilla. Contact him at 357-4229 or ron.hamman@gci.net.