Rare are the parents who have never thought of hitting a disobedient child even once. But a new study provides another reason to avoid corporal punishment: Licking can cause changes in the same areas of a child's brain, just as a more severe physical and sexual abuse had occurred.
Previous research has consistently found links between behavioral problems and bullying, aggression, depression and anxiety, says Jorge Cuartas, a PhD candidate at the Harvard School of Education and the study's lead author.
"We wanted to see a possible mechanism, brain development, that could explain how corporal punishment can affect children's behavior and cognitive development."
The study, published in Child Development, looked at a "map" of the brains of 147 pre-adolescent children who had never experienced physical or sexual abuse. The researchers tracked which parts of children's brains were activated in response to neutral or frightening facial expressions. When pictures of someone who looked scared were shown, children who reported being hit by their parents had a greater reaction in certain parts of the brain than children who did not get licking. These areas guide the response to environmental cues: Someone knows the threat better and, consequently, reacts more. If the child's brain reacts too much, it can result in behavioral challenges.
"We saw that changes in the brain occurred in the same areas that occur in the most severe forms of abuse, and as long as a child's brain has a change / reaction - we are dealing with violence," said Vincent Palusci, a pediatrician. "It is a significant revelation because many parents do not think of slapping as 'violence'. They think they are disciplining the child and raising happy, healthy children."
Another expert says:
"While we would not want to hurt our children in any way, we must understand that a slap can be as bad as the things we would never do to a child."
For some parents, this change can be difficult because it is a change of mindset, especially if the parents themselves have received licking from their parents. They need to understand the difference between discipline and punishment. Discipline changes behavior - it teaches positive behavior, empathy, essential social skills. Punishment can make someone feel pain or shame.
That said, the whole study does not show that every child who has received a slap = an abused child. Compare with the smoker. We all know someone who smokes (and we all know its effects) but who is healthy.
Source: Web MD
