They Spank Children in South, But in North It’s ‘Time Out!’

Southern parents spank their preschool children more than Northern parents, who tend to use bribery, “time out” and distractions to persuade their children to behave, a study found.

Black parents interviewed by researchers also were more inclined to follow the adage, “Spare the rod, spoil the child,” than white parents, regardless of where they live and how educated they are.

Seventy percent of the parents reported using physical punishment at least once. But so-called “low authority” was the most popular type of discipline. Some mothers distracted, bribed, pleaded or ignored their children more than 90% of the time.

The University of Virginia study investigated regional, ethnic and individual differences in how working parents discipline young children. Researchers interviewed 720 families with children between the ages of 1 and 5 who were enrolled in 120 child care centers in Massachusetts, Georgia and Virginia.

The study, supported by the National Institutes of Health, also verified findings in two previous studies about racial differences in discipline, according to psychology professor Sandra Scarr, who directs the university’s Child Care and Family Project.