From the Department of Yikes: New research out yesterday indicates that children who are spanked have lower IQs.

The finding is being called "groundbreaking" though I'm not sure why – it basically piles onto earlier research claiming that spanking turns kids into social deviants who misbehave more, have higher rates of depression, and grow up to beat their spouses and favor sadomasochism. Yes, you read that last part right. That was research released last year by the same fellow whose work this year is linking spanking to lower IQ, Murray Straus, a professor of sociology at the University of New Hampshire. He's made a career out of pointing out the evils of spanking.

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Less-than-ideal practice? Maybe. The ruin of society? I don't buy it. Never have. A whole generation of parents was spanked, and most of us turned out okay. Most of us have pretty decent IQs. Numerous surveys show that more parents spank than not.

The trouble with the spank-or-no-spank debate (and the ominous research) is that the practice gets reduced to a blanket condemnation. Almost every parent agrees there's a world of difference between a slight swat on a bottom and a beating. It's not a fine line. I don't know any loving right-minded parent who believes in beatings. (That's called child abuse, and it's not only wrong, it's illegal.) There's also a difference between giving an occasional spanking and making it the centerpiece of your approach to discipline, which would be a counterproductive cop-out. Especially once a child enters the age of reason, there are plenty more effective ways to teach self restraint. But I don't believe that most spanking-indifferent parents are just spanking kids willy-nilly as their only form of discipline; they do it once in a while, whether because they lose their temper or want to reinforce a point. (Don't run in the street!)

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I have four kids. I've spanked each one, when they were littler. So far they seem pretty bright, well behaved, loving, and normal. I'm not saying they turned out well because of the spanking. I'm saying the occasional swat didn't ruin them, and doesn't make me a horrible person.

(Though I'm bracing for being slammed about what a horrible person I am anyway!) –Paula Spencer, WD "Momfidence" columnist

What do you think?