Spanking and Triage

Abstract

There is not much about corporal punishment in this article, but I understand that Dr Chamberlin argues, by omission, that spanking is only a bit player in the complex interplay of risks that threaten the future development of a child. A concerned society will do what it can broadly to increase the information and practical support available to families, which might prevent a variety of problems created or exacerbated by upbringing and experiences in childhood. One question for this meeting is: would the American Academy of Pediatrics be contributing to this broad mandate for prevention with a statement that focuses on spanking or other mild punishment, or does attention to a small problem draw attention from big problems that urgently need action? I agree with Dr Chamberlin's argument for providing comprehensive services to all members of a community rather than targeting high-risk groups, except that I think his goals impractical given limitations on public funds for social services. How should we spend the small amount of public money available for the welfare of children? Five to eight percent of all children have a temperamental problem with aggression; some 80% of boys growing up in poor, marginalized neighborhoods in US inner cities will be arrested for a violent crime before age 18. These data do not describe the same problem. We have heard several references in presentations here to the exceptional violence of US society and reports of studies that relate spanking to criminal violence in adulthood. Our cities do not have a patent on violence, and children everywhere deserve protection from abuse.