Spanking is a form of child abuse, new study shows.

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journal of child development, spanking

What Child Abuse Looks Like

For years I have been belaboring a point that some adults refuse to accept: any kind of physical discipline of children is a form of abuse. Worse, what starts out as “harmless” spanking escalates over time into serious emotional and physical injury to the child.

Now a new study of toddlers shows that even spanking kids at that early age can have long-lasting consequences.  According to CNN, the study from the Journal of Child Development shows —

Children who were spanked as 1-year-olds tended to behave more aggressively at age 2, and did not perform as well as other children on a test measuring thinking skills at age 3. . . . Spanking, moreover, reinforces negative memories in the child’s mind. Parents should aim instead to build “prominent, happy memories” of childhood for their kids.

The study also concludes that parents who spank are more likely to be younger, less educated, single, and/or depressed and stressed.

Susan Newman, social psychologist and author of “Little Things Long Remembered: Making Your Children Feel Special Every Day,” said parents should discourage bad behaviors by taking away privileges such as dessert, or setting an earlier bedtime. Newman believes that children are too young to understand when parenting behavior is wrong, even at the level of abuse.

Physical violence, Newman says, gets passed down in families because the only parenting skills people know are the behaviors that they saw at home. So, if you want your children to abuse their children, keep hitting them. Your grandchildren will thank you for it!

Mom Gets 2 – 10 Years in Prison for Child Abuse

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abusive mothers, bad parents, Child abuse, child discipline, Physical abuse of children, Theresa Bergeron Nashua NH

A Nashua, NH, mother who forced her 10 year old daughter to stand all night and write in a notebook has been sentenced to 2 – 10 years in prison.

According to newspaper reports, Theresa Bergeron, 37, formerly of Nashua, pleaded guilty to first-degree assault, second-degree assault, reckless conduct, falsifying physical evidence and two counts of endangering the welfare of a minor.

The investigation started when the girl arrived at school limping and with bruises on her feet. She told school officials about the previous day’s punishment by her mother. She had to stand from 3 p.m. to 7 a.m. and write a phrase in a notebook. She was sprayed with water when she moved out of position.

Other punishments included:

–Confinement in a bedroom overnight, its heating duct taped shut in the winter. She had no blankets or clothes and could not access the bathroom.

–A diet of only Cheerios for breakfast and dinner.

–Getting struck with a crutch after eating too slowly.

NH Mother Arrested in Daughter’s Beating.

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beating children, child discipline, Manchester NH

More bad news from the pro-child abuse crowd.

A mother in Manchester, NH, gave her 10 year old daughter a black eye and bloody lip for taking presents from a sibling. The mother is being held on $20,000 cash bail pending arraignment in Manchester District Court.

For those of you who think hitting children is OK, this is another instance where the “right” to beat your children turns into abuse and an assault and “endangering a child” charge. You might start off thinking you will never abuse your child, but a spanking leads to a slap, then a punch, then a kick, then a full-blown assault on your child. You will destroy your child and end up a felon.

Don’t spank children.

To read the story from the Union Leader, click here.