Pediatricians’ association says: Don’t spank your kids

Dr. Marc Atkins, professor of psychiatry and psychology in UIC’s Institute for Juvenile Research, is quoted in a Chicago Sun Times article about new research on a new statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics about spanking children. The statement notes that corporal punishment — and verbal abuse — can harm kids. “The distinction between disciplining and then going out and beating somebody up because you don’t like them is not a distinction that is very clear to little kids,” Atkins says.