Pope Francis Makes Headlines For Stance On Spanking
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Called a reformer, Pope Francis is known for his blunt responses about the Catholic church's stance on everyday issues and his latest comments on spanking are no different.
Speaking an event at the Vatican this week, the pope said it's acceptable for parents to spank their children, as long as it doesn't demean them and is not done in the face.
"A father knows how to correct without degrading," Francis said in Italian.
He went on to tell the audience, "How beautiful, he has a sense of dignity. He needs to punish them, and he does it justly and moves on."
Later, a Vatican representative went on to say the pope was obviously not talking about violence against a child but rather "helping someone to grow and mature."
"I don't disagree with him," said Leslie Rose, a mother of two. "A lot of kids nowadays lack discipline and if it's necessary, I mean nothing too out of control, but I don't think it's wrong."
Derek Deboer has two young children and says he doesn't spank, but he's not against it.
"In certain situations, you know your kids going are to run into traffic or something, maybe you have to," he said.
Psychologist Dr. Jeff Gardere, a Catholic and father of four told CBS2's Cindy Hsu studies show spanking does not work.
"My fear is that there are parents who may take this as permission to then spank their children more often than they should, and actually perhaps hurt their children," he said.
A 2012 national survey by Child Trends found most parents in the U.S. believe a child sometimes needs a "good hard spanking."
But many pediatricians in the U.S. said there are better ways to discipline.
"Discussing the bad behavior, positive reinforcement, limited use of time outs can be good," said Dr. Dyan Hes of Gramercy Pediatrics in Manhattan.
Experts also suggest parents take a time out themselves to think about the most effective punishment before spanking.
In the U.S., parents can legally hit their children as long as the force is reasonable.
Pope Francis will be visiting the U.S. in September and will make a stop in New York where he is expected to visit the UN General Assembly and most likely St. Patrick's Cathedral. The main reason for the pope's visit to the U.S. is to attend the Meeting of World Families in Philadelphia. A schedule could be finalized in March.
