The problem of the battered child is much greater than is generally realized. Dr. James Apthorp, assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Southern California School of Medicine, stated recently that more children under five years of age are killed by their own parents than die of disease. He estimated that 60,000 children are beaten to death annually in America. The beatings are rarely premeditated; they may occur when an ordinary spanking gets out of hand, or when an emotionally disturbed parent loses control. Child abuse is committed by parents in all races and socio-economic levels, although younger parents of lower intelligence are the most likely to become violent with their children.
It is certainly pitiful to see the broken, bruised, and starved children who are brought in depressing numbers to hospitals for children. The little victims are too young to defend themselves or even call for help, and some of the atrocities are terribly pathetic. Several years ago, for example, one emotionally disturbed mother destroyed her infant daughter's eyes with a razor blade. Another four-year-old girl was abandoned on a freeway late one night, where she clung to the center divider for eleven hours before being rescued by the police. Such abused children often grow up to become brutal parents themselves, inflicting similar pain on their own children.
One of my greatest concerns in recommending corporal punishment (spanking) is that some parents might apply the thrashings too frequently or too severely. Generally, however, parents are less likely to become violent with their children when they know how to handle small behavioral problems before they reach a stage of extreme irritation.