Mayim Bialik Makes a Strong Point Against Spanking Kids
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Spanking is one of those hot-button parenting issues that we all view differently. There are some parents who believe a spank here and there is an essential part of disciplining kids, while others vow to never, ever use physical punishment of any kind.
Mayim Bialik is among the latter. The actress, who regularly records videos in which she takes on complicated parenting issues, just shared a comprehensive argument on why she's not in favor of the practice—and whether you agree with her points or not, you have to admit that Mayim definitely puts a lot of thought into this.
Mayim calls out a biblical reference that advocates in favor of hitting kids. But Mayim isn't buying it. "Have you never heard of hyperbole? Or historical context? In biblical times it was also totally a thing to throw stones at a disobedient son—so let's not use the Bible as our parenting guide for the 21st century," she argues.
Mayim also calls upon a scientific argument to make her point, stating that emerging research is pointing to long-term effects of being hit as a child. According to Mayim, scientific evidence indicates that not every child is going to react to spanking in the same way—and in Mayim's eyes, the act doesn't have a desirable effect in any case.
The actress admits that she too finds her children maddening at times, but she's had to be creative when coming up with disciplinary actions that fall more in line with her views.
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"You can't hit your spouse, you can't hit your student, you can't hit a stranger, you can't even hit your dog, yet we have laws protecting, defending, and justifying hitting a child. It makes no sense," she says.
Where do you stand on this? As Mayim's video suggests, every child is different, and not all kids respond effectively to specific techniques—it's up to parents to figure out and implement the best ones for their families. Do you think spanking is ever okay?
