Child Discipline: Spanking & Brain Chemistry

I keep articles that I want to blog about and I found this one hidden away. It is a great follow-up to my previous posts. There appears to be evidence that spanking actually alters a child's brain chemistry in negative ways. Spanking-especially harsh and other forms of corporal punishment-may effect a child's prefrontal cortex, which is the area of the brain that contributes to planning, memory, organization, and motivational behaviors. Lower grey matter in this area may be linked to depression, executive functioning difficulties, and even IQ. Check out the article and leave comments below, tweet me @fpschDrSweeney, or contact me directly. And, as always, if you find that you need support coming up with effective alternative ways to discipline your child, contact me, another psychologist, or a behaviorist. Enjoy!

http://www.cnn.com/2014/07/23/health/effects-spanking-brain/index.html