Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
A challenge to the cultural tradition of corporal punishment in Black homes and its connections to racial violence in America
Seventy percent of all Americans say they favor spanking, but African American culture seems to have a special attachment to it. The overwhelming majority of Black parents see corporal punishment as a reasonable, effective way to protect their children from street violence, incarceration, or worse. But Dr. Stacey Patton s extensive research suggests corporal punishment is a crucial factor in explaining why Black folks are subject to disproportionately high rates of child abuse, foster-care placements, school suspensions and expulsions, and criminal prosecutions all of which funnel traumatized children into our prison systems and away from their communities.
By examining all the layers of corporal punishment race, religion, history, popular culture, science, policing, the psychology of individual and cultural trauma, and personal testimonies with parents and children Dr. Patton encourages parents, teachers, clergy, and child-welfare providers to consider a wider range of 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."
Synopsis
A challenge to the cultural tradition of corporal punishment in Black homes and its connections to racial violence in America
Why do so many African Americans have such a special attachment to whupping children? Studies show that nearly 80 percent of black parents see spanking, popping, pinching, and beating as reasonable, effective ways to teach respect and to protect black children from the streets, incarceration, encounters with racism, or worse. However, the consequences of this widely accepted approach to child-rearing are far-reaching and seldom discussed. Dr. Stacey Patton's extensive research suggests that corporal punishment is a crucial factor in explaining why black folks are subject to disproportionately higher rates of school suspensions and expulsions, criminal prosecutions, improper mental health diagnoses, child abuse cases, and foster care placements, which too often funnel abused and traumatized children into the prison system.
Weaving together race, religion, history, popular culture, science, policing, psychology, and personal testimonies, Dr. Patton connects what happens at home to what happens in the streets in a way that is thought-provoking, unforgettable, and deeply sobering. 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.
Synopsis
A challenge to the cultural tradition of corporal punishment in Black homes--and its connections to racial violence in America--that encourages positive, nonviolent discipline for those rearing, teaching, and caring for children of color Why do so many African Americans have such a special attachment to whupping children? Studies show that nearly 80 percent of Black parents see spanking, popping, pinching, and beating as reasonable, effective ways to teach respect and to protect black children from the streets, incarceration, encounters with racism, or worse. However, the consequences of this widely accepted approach to child-rearing are far-reaching and seldom discussed. Dr. Stacey Patton's extensive research suggests that corporal punishment is a crucial factor in explaining why Black folks are subject to disproportionately higher rates of school suspensions and expulsions, criminal prosecutions, improper mental health diagnoses, child abuse cases, and foster care placements, which too often funnel abused and traumatized children into the prison system.
Weaving together race, religion, history, popular culture, science, policing, psychology, and personal testimonies, Dr. Patton connects what happens at home to what happens in the streets in a way that is thought-provoking, unforgettable, and deeply sobering.