Spanking For Bad Behavior: Vital parenting information from Eyewitness News

Nanny cam's have caught them on tape. The spankings that rattle the bodies of little ones.

As parents, you will decide how to handle attitude and behavioral outbursts. You will ask whether or not spanking is a practice that's right for you, your child and your family.

Dr. Joe Matusic, MD, Pediatrician
Certainly you should never harm your child or abuse your child. There's a time and place for any type of punishment or reward system for a child.

Seventy percent of pediatricians advocate corporal punishment, saying it should be done appropriately. Whether you call it a "crack" or a "spanking", it is still the same principle.

Dr. Joe Matusic, MD
If your child is running out into traffic you need to stop them and tell them this is a dangerous thing. Accidents are the number one cause of death for children. So you should do some appropriate punishment, and the parent is the best person to decide that.

If you are causing marks or bruises or bleeding, you need to recognize that this is abuse, not simple punishment. Dr. Matusic says to remember you have to be rational when administering corporal punishment.

Dr. Matusic, MD
When your emotions are involved you may do something you may not have intended to do.

So if you choose spanking as a punishment, you must also tell the child what they're doing wrong. And you must teach that child how you want them to behave, and properly handle the situation in the future. Corporal punishment is not recommended for adolescents. Doctors say that can demean a teenagers self esteem. And studies have shown spanking can cause aggressive behavior or behavioral problems in children.