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spanking is supposedly intended to teach.

~ Empathy Impairment ~

Spanking does not teach children why a specific action is unacceptable. As a consequence, what the child really learns is that it is okay to strike someone when they do something he or she does not like. It teaches rigid thinking. It does not teach children to critically weigh contributing factors, which are inevitable in virtually any circumstance, before casting judgment on a person or situation. This then poses a risk to the emergence of empathy, which is an important cognitive milestone in childhood.

Spanking children because they bite or snatch toys away from other children does not give the message that you should not do these things because they are hurtful to another person. The message children do get is that they shouldn't get caught doing these things because they will be physically hurt by an adult. Not doing something because of fear does not instill empathy - it instills anxiety and resentment.

~ Ineffective in the Long Term ~

Proponents of spanking like to say that it is a quick and effective way to deal with difficult or dangerous behaviors, particularly in very young children who cannot yet be reasoned with. The problem with this is that while a lengthy explanation or punitive time-out may simply be beyond a young child's comprehension, the same can be said of spanking.

Spankings might initially make toddlers give back a toy, stay away from the stove or prevent them from drawing on a wall However, in the long-term, spanking is ineffective because it does not address the underlying causes of behaviors parents find difficult. A spanking does not take into account that some of the hard to handle behaviors parents have to deal with in the early years are normal from a developmental point of view.

For example, young children are driven by a natural curiosity that compels them to explore and learn about their environment. When that curiosity is consistently met with physical punishment, it not only creates anxiety and hinders the learning process, it also teaches children to be sneaky and dishonest. They will still want to scribble on the wall or touch that shiny stove, but they learn that they have to be sneaky in order to get away with the behavior without being hit.

This situation can lead to a feeling of chronic tension within children. On the one hand they do not want to be spanked, but on the other hand they have an instinctive urge to explore the world using their senses, as

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