Children and the Rod

Since the beginning of time, when God says, "Yes," man says, "No." But let all mankind be advised that God is never wrong, and God never loses. Wise men tremble at His Word, and esteem it to be righteous and true altogether. Their lives are filled with purpose, understanding, joy, peace, and eternal promise that is just a vapor away.  GodSaidManSaid stands in defense of the Word of God. It scholastically and pragmatically proves that God is, that He authored the scriptures, and that all mankind will stand before Him during the Great White Throne Judgment. If you haven't made the decision to seek Christ Jesus, the center of your molecular structure, the Creator and center of the universe, then click on to "Further With Jesus" now. No decision will ever parallel it—no, not one.  NOW FOR TODAY’S SUBJECT.

GOD SAID, Proverbs 13:24:

He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.

MAN SAID: Forget this Bible foolishness. Spanking is barbaric. It's never good and it encourages negative behavior in children.

Now THE RECORD. Thousands of years before man began to discover the error of saying no to the Word of God concerning child rearing, the truth of the issue of child discipline was clearly defined in the Scriptures. This, of course, is just another proof that God is perfect in wisdom and understanding, and just another proof that God is. Proverbs 22:15 declares:

Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.

Proverbs 23:13:

Withhold not correction from the child: for if thou beatest him with the rod, he shall not die.

Hebrews 12:5-8:

5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:

6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?

8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.

The Godly prescription for child rearing has been thoroughly trashed by the likes of Watson, Freud, Spock, Neill, Gordon, Westheimer, and their ever-ready media pundits, but mountains of new findings find the presumed experts to be flat wrong.

In the article, "Spare the Rod? New Research Challenges Spanking Critics," published by people.biola.edu, the following 1994 survey was cited:

According to a recent Voter/Consumer Research poll commissioned by the Family Research Council, 76 percent of the more than 1,000 Americans surveyed said that spanking was an effective form of discipline in their home when they were children. These results are made all the more impressive by the fact that nearly half of those who answered otherwise grew up in homes in which they were never spanked. Taken together, more than four out of five Americans who were actually spanked by their parents as children say that it was an effective form of discipline.

Again, from the research:

When effective spanking is removed from a parent's disciplinary repertoire, he or she is left with nagging, begging, belittling, and yelling, once the primary disciplinary measures—such as time-out and logical consequences—have failed. By contrast, if proper spanking is proactively used in conjunction with other disciplinary measures, better control of the particularly defiant child can be achieved, and moments of exasperation are less likely to occur.

God's critics argue that spanking rebellious children will cause, rather than eliminate, unwanted aggressive behavior in the child. They say that Proverbs 22:15, "Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him," is just another example of the foolishness of the Scriptures. True scientific research always supports the Scriptures, such as the report published in Developmental Psychology under the title, "Familial and Temperamental Detriments of Aggressive Behavior in Adolescent Boys." One of the authors’ points was that childhood aggressiveness is more closely linked to maternal permissiveness and negative criticism than to even physically abusive discipline.

The article "Spare the Rod" weighs in with the following information concerning aggressive behavior:

In a 1994 review article on corporal punishment, Dr. Robert E Larzelere, a director of research at Boys Town, Nebraska, presents evidence supporting a parent's selective use of spanking of children, particularly those 2 to 6 years old. After thoroughly reviewing the literature, Larzelere concludes that any association between spanking and antisocial aggressiveness in children is insignificant and antifactual. After a decade of longitudinal study of children beginning in third grade, Dr. Leonard Eron found no association between punishment (including spanking) and later aggression. Eron, a clinical psychologist at the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research, concluded, "Upon follow-up 10 years after the original data collection, we found that punishment of aggressive acts at the earlier age was no longer related to current aggression, and instead, other variables like parental nurturance and children's identification with their parents were more important in predicting later aggression."

Isn't it astounding that the very things God's critics claim are wrong with God's directives are, in fact, the results of their own upside-down "wisdom?"

One of the allegations of the anti-spanking group is that spanking will lead to child abuse. But, according to Dr. Larzelere, the opposite is likely the case. The doctor in his 1994 review asserts that proper spanking may in fact reduce child abuse. Frustrated parents who cannot control their child's behavior or who take a permissive approach and refuse to spank are more likely to be the ones guilty of child abuse when their frustration matures into anger and explosive attacks upon their children.

Dr. Walter Larimore's article on the issue of child spanking and child abuse was published in September of 2002 in the Chicago Tribune under the heading, "Is Spanking Actually Harmful To Children?" The following excerpt is from that feature:

Proper spanking is often a necessary tool in parenting. Studies have shown an increase in child abuse in homes where appropriate spanking does not occur, as eliminating spanking takes away a strong, useful and suitable tool from a parent. Equating appropriate spanking with punishment that includes child abuse is inaccurate, unfair and misleads parents who are striving to properly raise their children.

Dr. D.A. Trumbull, a member of the Section on Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics of the American Academy of Pediatrics and a board certified pediatrician in private practice in Montgomery, Alabama, gave the following guidelines for disciplinary spanking:

1. Spanking should be used selectively for clear, deliberate misbehavior, particularly that which arises from a child's persistent defiance of a parent's instruction. It should be used only when the child receives at least as much encouragement and praise for good behavior as correction for problem behavior.

2. Milder forms of discipline, such as verbal correction, time-out, and logical consequences, should be used initially, followed by spanking when noncompliance persists. Spanking has shown to be an effective method of enforcing time-out with the child who refuses to comply.

3. Only a parent (or in exceptional situations, someone else who has an intimate relationship of authority with the child) should administer a spanking.

4. Spanking should not be administered on impulse or when a parent is out of control. A spanking should always be motivated by love for the purpose of teaching and correcting, never for revenge.

5. Spanking is inappropriate before 15 months of age and is usually not necessary until after 18 months. It should be less necessary after 6 years, and rarely, if ever, used after 10 years of age.

6. After 10 months of age, one slap to the hand of a stubborn crawler or toddler may be necessary to stop serious misbehavior when distraction and removal have failed. This is particularly the case when the forbidden object is immovable and dangerous, such as a hot oven door or an electrical outlet.

7. Spanking should always be a planned action, not a reaction, by the parent and should follow a deliberate procedure:

∙ The child should be forewarned of the spanking consequence for designated problem behaviors.

∙ Spanking should always be administered in private (bedroom or restroom) to avoid public humiliation or embarrassment.

∙ One or two spanks should be administered to the buttocks. This is followed by embracing the child and calmly reviewing the offense and the desired behavior in an effort to reestablish a warm relationship.

8. Spanking should leave only transient redness of the skin and should never cause physical injury.

9. If properly administered spankings are ineffective, other appropriate disciplinary responses should be tried, or the parent should seek professional help. Parents should never increase the intensity of spankings.

The conclusion from "Spare the Rod?" mentioned earlier, reads:

The subject of disciplinary spanking should be evaluated from a factual and philosophical perspective. It must be distinguished from abusive, harmful forms of corporal punishment. Appropriate disciplinary spanking can play an important role in optimal child development, and has been found in prospective studies to be a part of the parenting style associated with the best outcomes. There is no evidence that mild spanking is harmful. Indeed, spanking is supported by history, research, and a majority of primary care physicians. [End of quote]

In 1979, the Swedish government banned spanking in order to reduce child abuse. A 1995 government agency, Statistics Sweden, reported that police reports of child abuse by family members rose 400% in just ten years from 1984 to 1994, and teen violence increased nearly 600%. The Swedish ban has failed miserably.

When God says, "yes," wise men concur.

GOD SAID, Proverbs 13:24:

He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.

MAN SAID: Forget this Bible foolishness. Spanking is barbaric. It's never good and it encourages negative behavior in children.

Now you have THE RECORD.




References:

King James Bible

Eron, Dr. Leonard D., "Theories of Aggression: From Drives to Cognitions." Huesmann, L.R. (Ed.) Aggressive Behavior, Current Perspectives. 1994; pp. 3-11. New York: Plenum Press.

Flynn, Clifton P. "Regional Differences in Attitudes Toward Corporal Punishment," Journal of Marriage and the Family, 56 (May 1994): 314-324.

Larzelere, Dr. Robert E. "Should the Use of Corporal Punishment by Parents be Considered Child Abuse?" Mason, M., Gambrill, E. (Eds.) Debating Children's Lives. 1994; pp. 204-209. California: SAGE Publications.

Larzelere, Dr. Robert E. and Merenda, Dr. J.A. "The Effectiveness of Parental Discipline for Toddler Misbehavior at Different Levels of Child Distress." Family Relations. 1994; 43 (4).

"School Poll." Washington Times, August 28, 1995.

Statistics Sweden. K R Info. May 1995; pp. 1-6. Stockholm, Sweden.

Voter/Consumer Research Poll, National Values. Commissioned by the Family Research Council, 1994.

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