There is an official call to prohibit the disciplinary spanking of children

The use of spanking to reprimand a child – also known as corporal punishment – is one of the last "acceptable" means of physically punishing a child. However, new evidence has shown that this act was ineffective and harmed the development of the child's brain, thus creating grounds for its total prohibition.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) today issued a statement that spanking a child is likely to result in increased long-term aggression and is not an effective way of teaching child-to-female self or responsibility. The AAP notes that there are safer and more effective methods of teaching harm to children.

In light of this, the AAP has updated its position statement regarding its call for the prohibition of corporal punishment, which will be presented at the 2018 National Conference. This statement was published in the December 2018 issue of Pediatrics and also addressed the damage associated with verbal punishments, such as shame or humiliation, while informing parents and doctors of effective disciplinary methods for raising healthy children.

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The AAP found that corporal punishment and verbal abuse could scare a child in the short term, but did not improve long-term behavior – and could even lead to more aggressive behavior. Research has shown that hitting, screaming or shaming a child would probably increase the stress hormones and cause negative changes in the composition of the brain. In addition, verbal abuse is linked to the mental health problems of pre-teens and adolescents.

"It's best to start by rewarding positive behaviors," said Benjamin S. Siegel, co-author of the policy statement. "Parents can set rules and expectations in advance.The key is to follow them consistently."

The policy calls on pediatricians to use their influence during office visits on families who may need help in applying age-appropriate discipline methods. It provides educational resources informing parents and physicians about healthy forms of discipline, such as "setting limits, redirecting and setting expectations".

"There is no benefit to spanking," said Dr. Robert Sege, former member of the AAP Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect and author of the policy statement. "We know that children grow and develop better with a positive role model and setting healthy boundaries, we can do better."

Here, the PAA describes 10 effective and above all healthy methods to discipline your child, use timeouts, establish the consequences for bad behavior and reward good behavior.