ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Spanking children remains a hot topic amongst parents, including those in the entertainment industry.
Singer Kelly Clarkson recently revealed that she is “not above spanking” when it comes to disciplining her 3-year-old daughter River Rose and 1-year-old son Remy.
“I’m not above a spanking, which people aren’t necessarily into and I don’t mean like hitting her hard, I just mean a spanking,” Clarkson told 98.9 The Buzz in Rochester, New York.
The “American Idol” winner did recognize that her view is not shared by everyone though.
“So that’s a tricky thing when you’re out in public, ‘cause then people are like, you know, they think that’s wrong or something, but I find nothing wrong with a spanking,” she said. “I warn her. I’m like, ‘Hi, I’m gonna spank you on your bottom if you don’t stop right now. Like, this is ridiculous.’”
Clarkson added she was spanked as a child and she “did fine in life.”
“I’m from the South, y’all, so we get spankings. My mom would call the principal if I ever ended up in the principal’s office and give permission for her to spank me … I’m a well-rounded individual with a lot of character, so I think it’s fine.”
According to a recent poll from ABC News, 65 percent of Americans approve of spanking, with the highest rate among people in the south. But just 26 percent said grade school teachers should be allowed to spank kids at school.
A study published in 2017 in the Journal of Pediatrics shows that children who are spanked are more likely to commit dating violence.
“We asked 758 kids between 19 and 20 years old how often they had been spanked, slapped or struck with an object as form of punishment when they were younger,” said the study’s lead author, Jeff Temple, a psychiatry professor at the University of Texas Medical Branch. “Kids who said they had experienced corporal punishment were more likely to have recently committed dating violence.”
This result, he said, held up even when contributing factors such as sex, age, parental education, ethnicity and childhood abuse were controlled.
CNN contributed to this report.
