Researchers set out in search of the truth: Does spanking kids make them grow up to spank their own kids?
It’s a pretty common assumption that if you spank your kids, they’ll grow up to spank their kids too. But researchers from Ohio State University put on their super hero capes and set out to find out if this assumption was actually true. (Don’t you love it when people are searching for the truth?)
What they found was surprising…
“Fathers who were spanked as children are less likely to spank their own children than mothers who were spanked while young, according to a US study…”
“A little spanking of boys seems to deter (fathers) from spanking their own children later in life,” said Vespa. “The evidence suggests that mothers are more the disciplinarians in the family than fathers are today.”
The article goes on to explain that when they compared the group of mothers who were spanked when they were kids, and the group of fathers who were spanked when they were kids, the mother’s spanked their current kids more than the dads. The mothers seem to have learned how to treat their kids and the father’s seemed to have learned what NOT to do with their kids. You can read the full article here.
How about you? Were you spanked as a child? And what’s your tendency today? Do you spank your kids? Or try not to?
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