The Truth About Spanking (And Why Big Psycho Can’t Handle It)

Through the course of my fifty years and counting career as a “parenting expert,” the meaning of which boils down to “a guy who spends disproportionate time thinking and talking about how human beings have reared and are rearing children,” I’ve been the object of more than my fair share of snide and even libelous remarks—mostly from my colleagues in the mental health professions. I’m not complaining; just stating an interesting fact that reflects my skill at attracting controversy.

I even remember my first encounter with such controversy. I had begun writing a nationally syndicated column in 1978, when I was still employed as a psychologist with the Mecklenburg County (Charlotte, NC, and immediate surroundings) Community Mental Health Center.

In 1979, I wrote a column in which I stated what was, and is, a FACT: Research has confirmed that the mental health of children who are OCCASIONALLY spanked is significantly BETTER than the mental health of kids whose parents never spank. That works historically as well: Since the 1950s, as the per capita of parents who spank has shrunk, so has the mental health of children.