GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. - The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has declared spanking an "aversive disciplinary strategy" and recommended that it not be used while disciplining children.
In a study published in the journal Pediatrics, the AAP said that strategies like spanking, hitting, yelling at or shaming kids are "minimally effective in the short term and not effective in the long-term."
The study found that these types of discipline are linked to "an increased risk of negative behavioral, cognitive, psychosocial, and emotional outcomes for children." That means that aversive strategies like spanking can actually harm a child's development emotionally, mentally and socially.
The AAP encourages parents to find positive and effective ways to discipline children. AAP said parents need to avoid the physical punishment and verbal abuse of children.
This is not the first time that the AAP has condemned spanking as unnecessary corporal punishment. This tweet from October also says spanking is not necessary.
As of now, it is legal in Minnesota to use "reasonable force" when disciplining your child. However, the law also says that "no child should be subject to corporal punishment," which includes spanking.
An April lawsuit filed by Minn. parents claims that the state kidnapped their children after determining they were unsafe after what the plantiffs call ordinary parental discipline. The children were put into foster care based on the discretion of a social worker. The case went to federal court on Oct. 9.