Smack Your Kids, But Only If They’re Little

A study showed that spanking your kids before the age of six might make them perform better in school, help them become more successful and study better. It's not a big surprise this study isn't scoring points with a lot of people.

Did we really need a study like this? Who thought to themselves, hey why don't we conduct a study to see if spanking our kids will make them smart? I mean, who thinks that way? Who was this person? And I so do like the results, so long as the kid is less than six years old, then the study says "go ahead and spank those rugrats!" but if they're over the age of six, then spanking them might result in behavioral problems.

So if you have a real little one, and they don't understand what they did wrong when you tell them what they did wrong, the best solution is to smack them one. I guess that makes sense if we're living in a totally senseless world. Why on Earth would the kid understand why they were being hit if they didn't understand what they did wrong in the first place? And what does this do except teach our children that the solution to a problem is violence. Those first six years are a crucial time of development. Those are the years where they develop language, learn to understand the world, begin to feel love and joy. Should we mar those years by hitting our kids when they don't do what we wish?

Maybe it's because I come from a younger generation. I wasn't spanked. I figured out things. I figured out that fire is hot and that running full speed down the stairs with a pair of scissors in my hand isn't a good plan. I figured out not to talk back to people. I figured out I should behave in school and respect my elders. I figured out to refer to adults as sir and ma'am. I figured out how to study. I figured out how to read and write and do everything I was supposed to do.

But never was I smacked into learning the things I learned. If I tried to touch a stove, would a slap across the face have told me that touching the stove was a bad thing? Or would it have told me that my parents are violent and don't know how to say a simple "no" and pull me away from something harmful?

Smacking your kids is the easy way out. I'm sure your kids learn fast what not to do. But easy doesn't make it right.