The mom behind me and her young son started squabbling as the little guy became increasingly worked up over the long line and started squirming and whining that he wanted to leave. His mom kept demanding, "Stop it. My daughter and I were horrified, as it appeared almost everyone in line appeared to be too. The sadness on the little boy's face and his humiliation were palpable, and as his tears kept flowing, she resumed meting out her punishment.
My daughter and I talked about our disturbing feelings the entire way home. I told her how when I was growing up, these kinds of corporal punishment were standard in many homes. Spanking was just how parents disciplined. To her, the very idea of spanking a child is appalling.
I agreed. Having been spanked as a kid, I could almost taste the humiliation and despair of the little boy in line at the mall. And I was grateful that I have turned to more healthy ways to discipline my children, or at least that I try. It seems a growing body of evidence points to the fact that spanking does more harm than good.
There is evidence to suggest that it erodes the connection between children and their parents , making children less likely to trust their parents. Many readers agree that spanking is a cruel form of punishment.
That's when it turns into abuse," says Amanda P. I can remember being spanked maybe three times as a child when I was younger, and I've never spanked any one of my children for misbehaving.
