How do you feel about spanking?

http://www.today.com/parents/france-just-made-spanking-your-kid-illegal-t106715

Studies have shown that spanking basically doesn’t work: It can not only impair a child’s IQ and their overall ability to learn, but it can also lead to low self esteem, aggressive behaviors and substance abuse and addiction problems in later years.

According to a June 2016 study that appeared in the Journal of Family Psychology, more than five decades of research revealed that children who were spanked were more likely to encounter mental health and cognitive difficulties and obstacles, become anti-social and introverted, and were more likely to defy their parents.

Reports have revealed that, since 1986, the practice of spanking children has decreased among women. However, parents across the U.S. say they still approve of spanking as a form of discipline…

I’m very thankful that spanking was not a part of my upbringing. If you hit a stranger, it’s considered criminal battery. Why not the same for your own child? What can a child learn when violence is used as a reinforcement? Spanking is about bullying, not about teaching. It’s about who has the most power in a parent/child relationship.

Don’t hit your kids. Don’t hit your pets. Spanking is not an educational tool. It creates anger and resentment, and just makes the victim want to hit you back. And if they can’t hit you back, they’ll take it out on someone else.