Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson says he never intended to hurt his 4-year-old son when he hit him with a tree branch. But experts in childhood development said the intent doesn’t matter, striking a child is never appropriate.
“We do have to respect other people’s cultural points of view, but the law is very clear and the research is very clear,” said Kimberly Sirl, a clinical psychologist at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. “Spanking doesn’t work, and it just makes kids mistrustful and aggressive. What we’re teaching them is fear rather than responsibility and problem solving.”
A prosecutor in Texas where the running back has a home said the child had cuts on his legs and bruises on his back and buttocks from the incident last May. Peterson indicated in social media that he also inadvertently struck the child’s scrotum. The injuries were discovered during a routine medical exam.
“I am not a perfect son. I am not a perfect husband. I am not a perfect parent, but I am, without a doubt, not a child abuser,” Peterson said in a statement released Monday. “I am someone that disciplined his child and did not intend to cause him any injury.”
Most parents who use physical punishment do not intend to harm the child, said Deborah Sendek of the nonprofit Center for Effective Discipline in Ohio.
“Parents are looking for what works, ‘How can I be a disciplinarian, how can I teach the child right from wrong and hold them accountable?’” Sendek said.
Peterson also used a common argument in defense of corporal punishment by saying he received the same form of discipline as a child. More than 90 percent of American parents report physically punishing their child at some point, and most of them were spanked as children. Many parents have publicly supported Peterson by saying they consider themselves good citizens despite or even because of physical discipline they received as children.
Child psychologists and prosecutors hear that argument often. They point out that it also used to be acceptable for kids to ride bikes without helmets or ride in cars without car seats. Even in families and cultures where corporal punishment is the norm, parents can decide to end the pattern of violence toward children, experts said.
“It takes a strong person to take from our parents what was good, and throw away what wasn’t the best,” said Dr. Kathleen Berchelmann, a pediatrician at St. Louis Children’s Hospital.
Berchelmann said she occasionally spanked her oldest child years ago but has since banned the practice in her own home. The topic is one of the most controversial in pediatrics, because most parents are trying to do what’s best for their children, Berchelmann said.
Corporal punishment of a child by a caregiver is legal in every state, but crosses the line into abuse when a child is injured. Doctors and teachers are required to report to authorities any marks, bruises, cuts or other injuries inflicted on a child. The use of a switch, or tree branch, as Peterson did, could be considered a weapon under the law in most states.
But when talking to most parents about more typical swatting, “it’s not very effective to say it’s child abuse,” Berchelmann said. “I choose to highlight the fact that corporal punishment brings an immediate and effective behavior change but is not effective in teaching long-term self-discipline and values.”
In 19 states, including Missouri, corporal punishment is legal in public schools. In the most recent data available, Missouri ranked in the top 10 states for use of corporal punishment in schools, with more than 5,000 students receiving a physical discipline in 2006, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Education. The state still allows individual school districts to set their own rules. Local doctors said they were not aware of any recent cases of spankings in area schools.
The American Academy of Pediatrics opposes spanking because research shows it results in long-term aggression in children.
“The more children are spanked, the more anger they report as adults, the more likely they are to spank their own children, the more likely they are to approve of hitting a spouse, and the more marital conflict they experience as adults,” a statement from the group says.
The American College of Pediatricians takes a more moderate view by approving of “appropriate spanking” for children ages 2 to 7 when milder forms of discipline have failed. Appropriate by the group’s definition means a couple swats to the child’s clothed buttocks as a planned, and not angry, reaction that does not leave a mark.
It’s better to praise and reward good behavior than physically punish for bad behavior, experts agree. Kids should have rules and expectations for their behavior based on three simple concepts, said child psychologist Sirl: to keep them safe, to keep them healthy and to help them get along with others.
Parenting with confidence
Learn strategies for parenting with common sense that helps strengthen a child’s problem-solving skills. Jewish Family Service is holding positive discipline classes on Tuesdays from Oct. 21 to Nov. 11 at 6:30 at its Capitol Hill campus (1601 16th Ave., Seattle). $25 per session and financial assistance is available. Advance registration required. For more information, call 206-861-3146 or email familylife@jfsseattle.org.
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