The Problem: Spanking and Child Traumas
There is a large scale problem at hand. ACEs, or Adverse Childhood Experiences during ones formative years may come with an array of long term health and social problems that manifest themselves later in life. ACEs can be caused by neglect, abuse and other forms of maltreatment, and they can result in higher risks of substance abuse, absenteeism from work, anxiety disorder and financial problems.
If you think about it, this makes sense. Children are the smallest and most vulnerable of Americans. They can’t defend themselves, they can’t leave, they can’t file assault charges. During the first four years of life, 90% of a child’s brain develops through the experiences of that child. In the past two decades over a hundred studies have shown that violence is the result of insecure/disorganized early attachments. Today, 68% of American parents think spanking is not only good but essential to child rearing. 90% of parents spank their toddlers at least three times a week; two thirds spank them once a day. 50% of parents hit their one year old child. These children have no voice: 93% of these parents justify their spanking but almost half admit to “losing it” many times and believe they over-use spanking. 85% of parents say they would rather not spank or hit if they had an acceptable alternative. A plethora of research has demonstrated that physical punishment is not only ineffective, but also detrimental and often accompanied with long term ramifications due to the impressionability of children.
At the Foundation for Peaceful Parenting, we believe that parents should never use corporal punishment on their children. This includes spanking, hitting with objects, and yelling or belittling children as a form of punishment. We encourage parents to avoid punitive parenting and use methods such as positive discipline and attachment parenting instead. By abandoning punitive parenting for more peaceful methods, parents can strengthen connections with their children and spouses, and they are able to avoid many of the damaging effects of punishment on children. Our call to action is to minimize ACEs and provide resources encouraging a better alternative. Listed below are just some of the ways we intend to mitigate harmful childhood experiences and promote edifying resources for the community:
The goal of the Foundation for Peaceful Parenting is to promote the use of peaceful parenting methods rather than physical forms of punishment. We seek to help all parents and future parents attain and use proper resources to improve their parenting methods, and ultimately improve the lives of all children across the country. We were all once children, and every child deserves caring and loving parents.
We strive for a world in which all children live free of trauma and can equally experience the comfort of non-punitive parenting in a nonviolent household. With proper action, we can help reduce the amount of anxiety disorder, substance abuse, absenteeism and financial problems that are present in US adults, by helping parents learn the benefits of peaceful parenting and positive discipline. Consider that by eliminating ACEs, we can save over $600 Billion in health, judicial, education, and productivity costs in the US economy.
We aim to promote peaceful parenting as an alternative to corporate punishment. We believe in the importance of parenting with virtue and teaching children compassion from an early age. We aim to mitigate the effects of Adverse Childhood Experiences by offering social/emotional learning courses and therapy outlets for ACEs, along with research studies and references relevant to peaceful parenting. Together we can work toward ending ACEs in children and make the world a more peaceful and loving home for the generations to come.
