Spanking Is Not Whipping (and Why It Matters)

Tempting though it is to take a simplified view, I don’t want to be the one to claim that once you’ve defined your terms you’ve found a way to understand any disagreement. However, I am quite willing to propose that clear definitions will help make constructive discussions of arguments about corporal punishment of children. Here is an effort to start the process:

Spanking is not whipping. Spanking is not paddling or beating. Spanking may or may not be the same as a smack. Spanking may or may not be equivalent to a whup, a whoop, or a tap. Spanking is not caning, belting, or flogging, or even slippering.

Spanking has been defined again and again, in the course of discussions about differences between corporal punishment of children and physical abuse of children. Spanking involves a small number of blows given with an adult’s open hand, usually to a child’s buttocks, legs, or hands. It does not include blows to the face or head or “boxing” the ears. Spanking does not employ kicking, giving blows with the closed fist, or using an object like a whip, switch, wooden spoon, belt, or razor strop to strike. Spanking does not cause bruising, bleeding, or welts, although it may leave a reddened mark for some minutes on pale skin.

This definition appears clear enough, and it is quite familiar to anyone who has read a little of the literature about child abuse and physical methods of punishment. Yet few people seem able to make the distinction. The Nov.7 Times article on children whose deaths were associated with the recommendations for corporal punishment of Michael and Debi Pearls (now at http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/07/us/deaths-put-focus-on-pastors-advocacy-of-spanking.html?scp=1&sq=1&sq=Michael%20Pearls&st=cse) bore the following headline: “Preaching Virtue of Spanking, Even as Deaths Fuel Debate”. Yet the Pearls’ recommendation was not for spanking; it was for whipping with a narrow object like a willow switch or plastic plumbing supply line. Advocating for the opposite viewpoint, Project NoSpank (www.nospank.net) uses the word “spank” in its name, yet focuses primarily on corporal punishment involving blows with objects.

Why is it important to clarify whether corporal punishment involves actual spanking, as defined, or some other form of blows? To begin with, when we’re talking about important things, it’s wise to be sure exactly what’s under discussion. And, second, it really does not do to dismiss the differences on the grounds that “corporal punishment is corporal punishment” and that details like its intensity are irrelevant. Nobody would say that scolding is always the same thing, when it can range from a quiet request that a child think twice, to terrifying yelling and screaming coupled with threats of mayhem. We have every reason to think that, in corporal punishment as well as in other treatments, there is a dose-response relationship, and that more of a treatment should be expected to have a greater effect than a small amount does. We are not likely to be able to understand the influence of corporal punishment unless we are sure how intense and how lengthy the punishment is.

It’s obvious how a clear definition of spanking is necessary for understanding of ordinary claims about physical punishment. Is it also important for the understanding of research on outcomes of corporal punishment, or can we expect researchers and discussants to insist on definitions of terms? As it turns out, published research reports are not always cautious about definitions. For example, two papers by Elizabeth Gershoff conclude that corporal punishment may have short-term benefits, but may also cause long-term harm by increasing aggression and aggravating mental health problems (Gershoff, E.T. [2002]. Corporal punishment by parents and associated child behaviors and experiences: A meta-analytic and theoretical review. Psychological Bulletin, 128, 539-579; Gersgoff, E.T. [2010]. More harm than good: A summary of scientific research on the intended and unintended effects of corporal punishment on children. Law & Contemprary Problems, 73, 31-56). Criticizing these papers, however, other authors pointed out that Gershoff’s work had combined studies of spanking with studies of other forms of corporal punishment (Larzelere, R.E., & Baumrind, D. [2010]. Are spanking injunctions scientifically supported? Law & Contemporary Problems, 73, 57-87). Examining research on spanking alone, as defined above, did not show an association with long-term problems.

By the way, there’s a distinct possibility that neither spanking nor other forms of corporal punishment have long-term influences of their own. Instead, it might well be that the kinds of parents who choose to spank, and the other kinds who choose other corporal punishment, have other ways of influencing their children, through the behavior they model and through the specific instructions or messages they communicate. In addition, the kinds of children who do things that their parents believe require physical punishment (like taking dangerous risks or harming other people) may be different in personality to begin with, and retain their differences as they grow older-- rather than being “shaped” by their parents’ child-rearing methods.

If people want to claim that God wants children to be punished physically, it’s pointless to argue with their belief system, nor does it matter much whether they advocate spanking or blows with objects. Those people don’t need or want specific definitions. However, if the argument is about the outcome-- whether children who are spanked develop well or poorly, and whether the effects of other physical punishments are the same or different-- we need to avoid the Times' headline-writer’s blurring of distinctions and be sure we all know what we’re talking about.