[Opinionated Blowhard]

How can we get our children to be honest? In general, carrots work better than sticks. Harsh punishments like spanking do little to deter lying, . . . . . In one study, Professor Lee and the developmental psychologist Victoria Talwar compared the truth-telling behaviors of West African preschoolers from two schools, one that employed highly punitive measures such as corporal punishment to discipline students and another that favored more tempered methods like verbal reprimands and trips to the principal’s office. Students at the harsher school were not only more likely to lie but also far better at it.

In other words, under the logic of this article, spanking your children makes them smarter.

[sparklite2]

In other words, under the logic of this article, spanking your children makes them smarter.

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Or viewed from another angle, fear of physical punishment is more of an encouragement to lie one’s way out of trouble than if the fear were not present.