Mayim Bialik explains why hitting kids is an outdated punishment

“Let’s not use the Bible as a parenting guide for the 21st Century.”

Mayim Bialik is best known for her role in The Big Bang Theory where she plays Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler. However, the actress has also got a PhD in neuroscience and a popular YouTube channel where she discusses things like parenting, breastfeeding, and non-conventional relationships. Mayim recently discussed spanking children on her channel, presenting an airtight argument against the practice. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TyaMaDw5p8 She starts off by quoting the Bible. But don't let that put you off, because Mayim actually uses the book as an example as to why parents should not hit their kids. The Bible may say “Whoever spares the rod hates their children,” but the actress argues that it also says some pretty questionable stuff about marriage, death, and stoning bold boys, so we probably shouldn't take it at face value. Mayim then moves away from religion and focuses on science. Unsurprisingly, research has found that hitting children when they do bad things does very little to stop the children from disobeying again. In fact, it actually encourages them to disobey more often. Dr. Elizabeth Gershoff says that evidence has shown time and time again that spanking does far more harm than good. “Physical punishment doesn’t work to get kids to comply, so parents think they have to keep escalating it. That is why it is so dangerous,” she says. Mayim agrees. In her YouTube video, she condemns the laws currently in place in America, that protects the right to hit minors in some States.

“I understand how tempting it is to look for quick solutions for behavior that you don’t want to see continue (but) you can't hit your spouse, you can't hit your student (...) you can't even hit your dog, yet we have laws protecting, defending, and justifying hitting a child. It makes no sense."

The social acceptance of spanking in the US is quite high, with 65 percent of Americans believing that the practice is correct and fair. The "reasonable chastisement" defence was outlawed in 2015 in Ireland, making it illegal to hit any minors.