Study says spanking is on the decline: do you spank your kids?

HOUSTON (FOX 26) - To spank or not to spank— what do you do?  Newly released study results have a lot of people talking about spanking and if it's an effective way to discipline.  Four studies going back to the 1980s reveal hitting your children to control behavior is declining. And according to the researchers, the higher your income the less likely you are to spank.      

"Alright I'll get your backside or I'm going to warm your biscuits is what I usually say,” explains Dee Curry.  There are many ways to say it.  “I don’t usually use the ‘A-word’,” Curry adds.

But it all means the same thing: "Kid you're getting a spanking."

"The spankings I got made me a better person and I feel like if I gave my kids the same thing it made them a better person.  I got spankings with a belt and whippings with a tree branch,” explains Elmer Ivory.

"It made me a good person,” says Juanita Tamez.  We talked with a number of Houstonians who gave their perspective on to hit or not to hit. 

So were you spanked as a child?  “No.  Never,” answers Helen Moreno.

”Oh yeah.  I was spanked a lot as a kid,” smiles Tracy Lane.

So do you spank your children?  "It depends on the circumstances.  They run out in front of a car you pop them on the butt,” explains a mother of seven who was at the Houston Zoo with her grandchildren.
And what did she spank her kids with?  "My hand,” she answers.

“I used a wooden spoon,” answer Hollie Mancillas.

"When I was in school a teacher gave me a paddling with a paddle with a hole in it.  Left a bad mark on my bottom.  My mother did not like that,” says Curry.

Marisa Arce explains, “I have a 7 year old daughter.  I give her warnings before she's going to be spanked so she can correct her behavior.”

"I believe in discipline like that.  I really do.  You just got to be really careful because they're not animals.  They're children,” adds Tamez. 

"Now you give a whipping, the child will call the police.  You know what I tell them the police can raise you,” says Curry.

So are you against spanking or do you feel it's an ineffective way to discipline?  "It's not an effective way to do it.  I don't think it works,” answers Rajnikant Patel.

"He actually made us hold our toes.  Just like this. Hold your toes and that worked.  He didn’t have to spank us,” explains his daughter Sejal Patel.  

How did Mr. Patel come up with the idea of holding their toes? “Well, that's what they used to do with us in India,” explains Mr. Patel.

According to the experts, we learn parenting practices from our moms and dads and we are more likely to spank if we were spanked.