Harsh Parenting Brings Out The Worse In Children, Study Says Punishments Have Negative Effect

Are there benefits to harsh parenting or does it bring out the worse in children? There are many reasons parents worry if their parenting styles help their kids. No parent would want to see his son or daughter helpless and unable to cope with life's challenges.

This fear, however, has led parents to doubt if they should have been firm with their kids enough to allow them to grow up independent and capable. A study published in the Child Development journal indicated that harsh parenting, where physical and verbal punishment are inflicted on the children, will most likely have a negative effect on the kids' success in school.

Research shows that children who get spanked by their parents are more aggressive and tend to suffer from anxiety and depression. This could lead to problems in learning and in establishing other relationships later on.

Rochelle Hentges of the University of Pittsburgh said their study showed how kids who have experienced stricter parenting had the tendency to engage in behaviors generally considered as risky, according to CNN. When exposed to harsh parenting at Grade 7, boys had the tendency to steal and hit others, while girls had the tendency to engage in risky sexual activities when they reached Grade 11. These students were also at risk of dropping out of school compared to their peers.

The study followed the respondents for many years and the researchers had difficultry tracking them down, as per ABC7. This was considered a limiting factor for the researchers who focused on adolescents. The researchers believe the outcome of the study will be very helpful in understanding the implications of harsh parenting to children.

Hentges said limiting physical aggression from their parents would allow kids to have a better support system at home. This would also reduce their reliance on other people who could badly influence them as they grow up.

Assistant professor Qing Zhou said authoritarian parenting are giving rise to children who have poor social skills or anxious and depressed, according to UC Berkeley. Zhou said successful parenting can be measured in terms of mental health and they are building a foolproof research to back this up.