September 7, 2022 – Child development experts are dismayed that a Missouri school is reviving kayaking as a punishment despite overwhelming scientific evidence against it.
“A lot of research has been done over the years to prove that corporal punishment is harmful to children,” says Alison Jackson, M.D., a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Child Abuse and Neglect.
She says Cassville Public Schools’ announcement that it will reinstate corporal punishment after a 21-year hiatus amounts to “going back in time.”
According to news reports, Cassville’s principal, Merlin Johnson, said a recent survey of the school system showed that students, parents and teachers are concerned about discipline issues. Some parents have suggested corporal punishment as a solution, but only if other methods have failed, and parents or caregivers have given their consent.
Evidence of hurt
When asked about the district’s decision, groups such as the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Psychological Association, the American Medical Association, the Adolescent Health and Medicine Association, the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners, and the American Academy of Family Physicians have long stressed. Opposition to corporal punishment in schools.
These organizations point to decades of research showing that hitting children does not improve behavior or stimulate learning, and can backfire by causing more aggression, academic problems, and physical injury.
a 2016 Report of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development concluded that physical strength in American schools is used disproportionately by black, male, or disabled students. The report pointed out that corporal punishment is an international violation of human rights.
George Holden, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus psychology At Southern Methodist University in Dallas, he said he was “disappointed, but not surprised” by the county’s revival of corporal punishment. Although corporal punishment in public schools is declining, 19 states have not prohibited it.
According to a 2016 report, 14% of school districts used corporal punishment and 163,333 students in public schools were subjected to this practice during the 2011-2012 school year. Corporal punishment is concentrated in the southeast. Half of all students in Arkansas, Mississippi, and Alabama attend a school that uses this practice.
The report noted that only two states, New Jersey and Iowa, have banned corporal punishment in private schools.
Jackson, Holden, and other experts say mindsets are slow to change, and people who have grown up with parents who beat them may be defensive or dismissive of criticism. Some teachers and parents may think that corporal punishment works because it is temporarily interrupted bad behaviorExperts say.
Avoid physical force
However, more schools are shifting away from allowing teachers to use corporal punishment and instead harnessing restorative practices, collaborative problem-solving, positive behavioral interventions and support, says Holden, president of the nonprofit American Coalition to End Child Spanking.
FrederickMidwayAnd the Many counties now say corporal punishment is used as a last resort, which was not the case in decades past, said Ph.D., who is a professor emeritus of psychology at the University of South Carolina.
But he says he doubts schools will stop using corporal punishment until families stop the practice.
Physicians can play an important role in intervening with new parents, says Jackson, who leads the Child and Adolescent Protection Center at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C. She suggests that clinicians ask new caregivers how they plan to deal with challenging behaviors, and offer guidance.
Medway says childcare visits should include assessments of behavior that may lead to disciplinary action, such as impulsivity and refusal to comply with rules, that can be addressed early. Psychological health Therapy and parenting guidance.
paediatrics academy publication, Effective discipline to raise healthy childrenAnd the Describes alternatives to corporal punishment and advises clinicians to provide parental behavior management strategies and referrals to community resources such as parenting groups, classes, and Psychological health services. The academy also offers Tips for parents on his website.
Alison Koleba, PhD, and chair of the Association for Adolescent Health and Medicine’s Violence Prevention Committee, says health care professionals can “use their voice” to inform local, state, and national policy discussions about the health effects of corporal punishment on children.
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