Practicing Non-Violence in Our Home

Screen Shot 2015-02-27 at 10.19.14 AM“Go to your room!”

“Wait until your father gets home… “

“Do you want me to use my belt?”

This is what I remember as a child when I was in trouble. My mother spanked me with a wooden spoon. My father used a thick leather belt. Some of you reading this may have similar memories.

A 2002 ABC News poll reported that by about a 2:1 margin, American parents spank their children. In fact, according to the U.S. Department of Education, in Mississippi, Arkansas, Alabama, Tennessee, Oklahoma, and Louisiana, school-sanctioned spanking is still widespread.

Hitting children is still normal. Most of us who were spanked may observe that we turned out fine, but the truth is we will never know. None of us have any idea how we might have turned out without any spankings – perhaps better, or perhaps worse.

What we do know today is that scientists can prove that physical violence in a child’s life by a parent can not only alter the brain in a traumatized way, but evidence also shows that the child will possess less gray matter in its brain development.

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