Parents, this message is important. Please take note of it and try your best. It can be the difference between a healthy and happy child and one who grows up antisocial, aggressive, timid, and powerless.

Psychologically speaking, spanking has a direct correlation to these traits. There exists no psychologist institution worth its salt that suggests that spanking has any positive effects. The American Psychological Association is quite clear about its position on spanking.

Many studies have shown that physical punishment — including spanking, hitting and other means of causing pain — can lead to increased aggression, antisocial behavior, physical injury and mental health problems for children. . . . But spanking doesn’t work, says Alan Kazdin, PhD, a Yale University psychology professor and director of the Yale Parenting Center and Child Conduct Clinic. . . . "We are not giving up an effective technique. We are saying this is a horrible thing that does not work."

Psychology Today has argued that spanking does nothing more than create disobedience in the short term and an aggressive attitude towards authority in general in the long term. Spanking, in general, is inefficient because punishment is only effective as a teaching tool if it comes immediately after the undesirable action has occurred.

That neglects the physical effects that spanking has on the brain. Psychology Today reported that:

According to the report [by psychologist Joan Durant], spanking may reduce the brain's grey matter, the connective tissue between brain cells. Grey matter is an integral part of the central nervous system and influences intelligence testing and learning abilities. It includes areas of the brain involved in sensory perception, speech, muscular control, emotions and memory.

Yet, 57 percent of mothers and 40 percent of fathers spanked their children when they were 3 years old. That's a damned toddler! Do you honestly think that a toddler knows what he or she did wrong? Do you honestly think that toddler is going to "learn" anything from that physical abuse that you just inflicted upon it?

It makes no logical sense whatsoever. If your child is old enough to be reasoned with, then try and reason with your child. If your child is not, then you have no business spanking your child because they cannot reason out why you are doing it in the first place.

Please, just stop, parents.