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[quote=Anonymous]My spouse and I are healthcare professionals, and both of us are from cultures where kids routinely are spanked.  I don't buy the argument that all spanking unquestionably damages kids--the opposite has been found in some cultures.  For example, as noted in Nurture Shock, one study found an inverse correlation between spanking and aggression in African American kids--that is, the more they were spanked, the less behavioral problems like aggression they later experienced as teens.  The authors basically concluded that spanking has different meanings across cultures.  Perhaps spanking is unfathomable for some white Americans and they feel it is synonymous with abuse, but this is not the case in many Asian and African cultures, for example.

I do think the American Academy of Pediatrics has taken the appropriate position on spanking, however.  It's a nuanced topic and for some parents, spanking can easily cross the line from simply calm, punitive spanking to hitting one's child in anger, so they are against it altogether to prevent abuse.  I don't the above nuance would be taken correctly when setting a public policy.  It's somewhat akin, perhaps, to drinking during pregnancy--a little perhaps is not harmful to the fetus, but in order to prevent really bad outcomes for a few people, the leading OBGYN orgs are against it altogether.[/quote]

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