Spanking Your Baby Doesn’t Work

No baby should be spanked or slapped. Spanking a baby is dangerous. Many babies are injured this way. Family members may tell you to spank your baby so he won't be spolied and will know you're the boss. This is not true. There are lots of positive ways to discipline children that you will learn about in this newsletter. We are learning new things about babies all the time. The information in this newsletter might be different from what your parents or neighbors were told when their children were little.

Spanking doesn’t work. Babies are too young to understand, so they don’t learn from spanking. It just makes a baby cry more, and it will make you feel bad. When your baby does something you don’t like, redirect him to something he can do. Show him a better way.

Your baby may upset you by waking you up at night, crying a lot, or messing a diaper just as you put it on. Remember: Your baby doesn’t do this on purpose to make you mad. Your baby doesn’t think that way. He can’t help it, so it makes no sense and doesn’t help for you to get angry.

What can you do?

• Call a friend and ask what she would do.
• Ask someone to watch your baby while you get some fresh air. You may come back with a new outlook on living with your baby.