Time out, extra chores and taking away privileges are more useful forms of disciplining (惩戒)naughty children than spanking or hitting, according to a study on Wednesday.
About 94 percent of parents use some form of physical punishment to teach their two-year-olds right from wrong, according to research studies. But psychologists say it could lead to later emotional and behavioral problems.
Even children who were only spanked some of the time are more likely to show signs of sadness or have less confidence.
“The key is to be fair and do the same thing each time. Doing something like hitting a child that seems cruel at best doesn’t help and can put a child at risk for problems,” said Dr Paul Frick, of the University of New Orleans in Louisians.
“It is better to use other punishments,” he added.
The use of physical punishment to teach children has long been debated. In countries such as Austria, Finland, Germany and Sweden, it is illegal to use physical punishment at home or in schools.
Frick and his team, who studied the effects of physical punishment on 98 children, said they couldn’t find any positive effects. Some children learned more from the hitting than what the parent was trying to teach them.
“The key is to have a lot of different forms of punishment depending on the age of the child,” said Frick, who reported his findings in the Journal of Applied Child Psychology.
He recommended time out for younger children and taking away television and electronic toys for older children. Giving extra chores can also get the message across.
Other measures are at least as effective as physical punishment and have less harmful potential consequences.
The researchers kept children whom they thought were at risk of later conduct problems out of the test and an equal number of other children who acted as a control group, to study what measures would be most helpful.
They questioned the parents and the children about positive and negative parenting behavior including the use of physical punishment.
“We got it from both viewpoints,” said Frick.
He added that children on the receiving end of a hit can learn that when they are upset and angry they hit, rather than understanding their behavior was wrong and that they need to do better.
67. What’s the purpose of the writer to write this article?
A.To debate if physical punishment is illegal.
B.To introduce how to deal with young kids.
C.To talk about how to discipline young kids.
D.To order parents not to spank young kids.
68. Which of the following punishments is NOT recommended by Frick and his team?
A. Taking away toys                                B. Not allowing watching TV
C. Doing more housework.               D. Switching TV channels 
69. What should be kept in mind when disciplining a kid?
A. How he or she usually behaves.
B. Tell them why they are punished.
C. Use different forms of punishment each time.
D. Be fair and stick to the same principle.
70. According to the passage, why did Dr Frick advise against physical punishment?
A. Because the children may hit people as a solution to problems.
B. Because the children will learn their behavior is wrong in time.
C. Because it is illegal to use physical punishment in certain countries.
D. Because parents think it’s the easiest way to teach kids right from wrong.