Beat your kids, beat their brains: Spanking lowers IQs

Spare the rod, spoil the child...and keep their IQ?

Proponents of corporal punishments on children are taking hit as a recent study shows that the IQs of 2-4 yr olds that were regularly spanked over 4 years were lowered more than 5 points than the unspanked.

Previous studies have shown that children who have been hit show lesser gray matter in their brains (less neurons) therefore have slower cognitive development.

In 1986 a previous study measured the IQ of 1510 2- to 9-year olds and also noted how often their mothers meted out corporal punishment. The researchers repeated the IQ tests four years later. The figures revealed that 93 per cent of mothers had spanked 2- to 4-year-olds once or more per week, whereas only 58 per cent had turned to physical discipline with the older kids. Nearly half of toddlers' moms had spanked their children three or more times per week, Straus and Paschall found.Four years later, younger children who had never felt their mother's palm had gained an average of 5.5 IQ points compared with kids who had suffered corporal punishment, while older unspanked children had gained 2 IQ points, on average.

Although spanking is related to lowered IQ, the biggest difference in the intelligence of a child is whether or the parents provided adequate cognitive stimulation. The study shows that cognitive stimulation is more important that corporal punishment.