Spare the kids - Stacey Patton

Though 70 percent of all Americans say they favor spanking, African American culture seems to have a special attachment to it. It is often seen as the most effective way to protect youngsters from the streets, crime, incarceration and encounters with racism. Dr. Patton argues that the underlying belief that black children need to be hit to be protected is rooted in a history of racial trauma. However, the consequences of this widely accepted approach to child discipline are far-reaching. For example, Black people are subject to disproportionately higher rates of child abuse cases, criminal prosecutions, school suspensions and expulsions, and foster care placements, all of which funnel abused and traumatized children of color into the juvenile and adult prison systems. Dr. Patton's extensive research strongly suggests corporal punishment is a crucial factor. By bringing all the cultural dynamics of corporal punishment together--race, religion, history, popular culture, humor, science, policing, the realities of foster care, the psychology of individual and cultural trauma, and personal testimonies with parents and children--Dr. Patton's goal is to encourage parents, teachers, clergy and child welfare providers to put down the belt and consider a wider range of healthier tools for raising and disciplining black children. Spare the Kids is not just a book. It is part of a growing national movement to provide positive, nonviolent discipline practices to those rearing, teaching, and caring for children of color.