VOA慢速英語：打屁股會給孩子造成長期傷害

Spanking Children Causes Long-term Harm

打屁股會給孩子造成長期傷害

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report.

這里是美國之音慢速英語健康和生活方式報道。

For some parents, spanking a child who misbehaves is a common punishment. In fact, they may think that a physical type of punishment is good for children and will teach them to behave in the future.

對一些父母來說，在孩子行為不端時打屁股是一種常見的懲罰。事實上，他們可能認為這種體罰對孩子有益，會教會他們未來怎么表現得體。

However, a leading group of child health specialists suggests that the opposite is true. These experts say that spanking is not only ineffective, it may even cause long-term harm to the child.

然而，一群一流的兒童健康專家認為情況恰恰相反。這些專家認為，打屁股不僅無效，甚至還會對孩子造成長期傷害。

The American Academy of Pediatrics recently amended its policy on physical punishment for a child.

美國兒科學會最近修改了對兒童體罰的政策。

Released in October, the academy warns that spanking a child can long-term effects. These effects include "aggression, brain changes, substance abuse and suicidal behavior in adulthood."

該學院在10月份發(fā)表的報告中警告稱，打孩子屁股可能會產生長期影響。這些影響包括“好斗、大腦變化、藥物濫用和成年期的自殺行為。”

The report admits that not every child who is spanked will have these problems later in life. It makes this observation: "Although many children who were spanked become happy, healthy adults, current evidence suggests that spanking is not necessary and may result in long-term harm."

該報告承認并非所有挨打屁股的孩子都會在以后生活中遇到這些問題。它提出了這樣的觀點：“雖然許多挨打屁股的孩子長成健康快樂的成年人，但現有證據表明打屁股是不必要的，可能會導致長期傷害。”

In recent years, many American experts have been advising parents against the use of physical punishment. Many other countries have already banned corporeal punishment. Sweden was the first nation to do so in 1966.

近年來，很多美國專家一直建議父母不要體罰孩子。很多其它國家已經禁止體罰，瑞典于1966年成為首個這樣做的國家。

2012 Canadian study

加拿大2012年的研究

Earlier studies have shown that corporeal punishment can also affect a child's ability to think and learn.

早期的研究表明，體罰還會影響孩子的思考和學習能力。

In 2012, a Canadian study found that spanking children can cause long-term developmental damage and may even lower a child's intelligence test scores.

2012年，一項加拿大的研究發(fā)現，打孩子屁股會導致長期的發(fā)育損害，甚至可能會降低孩子的智力評分。

Joan Durrant of the University of Manitoba is an expert in child development and how violence affects children. She was one of the authors of this report. Her co-author was Ron Ensom, with the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Ottawa.

曼尼托巴大學的瓊·達蘭特(Joan Durrant)是兒童發(fā)育以及暴力如何影響兒童方面的專家。她也是這篇報告的作者之一。她的合著者是就職于渥太華市東安大略省兒童醫(yī)院的羅恩·恩森(Ron Ensom)。

Durrant and Ensom studied 20 years of published research on the long-term effects of physical punishment. They found that such punishment makes children more aggressive and antisocial. They wrote that violence affects development in the brain and its ability to work properly. They also found that it can lead to depression and drug abuse.

達蘭特和恩森對20年來已發(fā)表的關于體罰長期影響的研究進行了調查。她們發(fā)現，這類懲罰會讓孩子更具攻擊性和反社會性。她們寫道，暴力會影響大腦發(fā)育及其正常運轉的能力。她們還發(fā)現它會導致抑郁癥和藥物濫用。

A report on this study and its findings were published in The Canadian Medical Association Journal.

關于該研究及其成果的報告發(fā)表在《加拿大醫(yī)學會期刊》上。

The American Academy of Pediatrics also warns against using strong verbal abuse or shame to discipline a child. These types of punishment can also cause long-term problems for a child.

美國兒科學會還警告不要使用謾罵或羞辱來懲罰孩子。這類懲罰也會給孩子帶來長期問題。

Instead, they suggest other types of punishment that are appropriate for the age of the child.

相反，他們建議采用其它適合孩子年齡的懲罰。

For younger children, punishment could be taking away a favorite toy. For older children, a parent can limit the time the child spends watching television or playing with computers or electronic games.

對于年齡較小的孩子，懲罰可能是拿走一件喜歡的玩具。對于年齡較大的孩子，父母可以限制孩子看電視或是玩電子游戲的時間。

And that's the Health & Lifestyle report. I'm Anna Matteo.

以上就是本期健康和生活方式報道的全部內容。我是安娜·馬特奧。