The Science and Statistics Behind Spanking Suggests that

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304 AKRON LAW REVIEW [42:243
Time Warner CEO Richard Parsons said of his parents who
spanked him, “It was just clear to me that both my parents were focused
on my well-being, my happiness, my prospects for success, satisfaction,
contentment.” 333
Likewise, Kaye/Bassman International CFO Nick Turner credited
corporal punishment for his success. 334 As an executive recruiter, Mr.
Turner said about ninety percent of the top executives were spanked as
he was, and they turned out to be “stable, focused, [and] competitive.” 335
For balance, the USA Today journalist also interviewed Dr. Straus.
While Dr. Straus admitted that “very good parents” spank, he said the
CEOs would be doing “even better” had they not been spanked. 336
While it’s unclear what makes someone a super-CEO, the sound
research contradicts Dr. Straus’ claim. Children who are never spanked
don’t seem to do “even better” than they would have with spanking;
instead, they tend to do worse than many who are spanked. 337
So, on the one hand, spanking opponents receive most of the media
coverage, and that media coverage often is unopposed. On the other
hand, positive reports about spanking are weak counterbalances because
they usually include opposing viewpoints, even if those views are
unfounded. This amounts to a virtual monologue about a subject that
deserves a dialogue.
333. EVE TAHMINCIOGLU, FROM THE SANDBOX TO THE CORNER OFFICE: LESSONS LEARNED
ON THE JOURNEY TO THE TOP 15 (2006).
334. See Jones, supra note 331.
335. Id.
336. Id. (“Straus says it comes as no surprise that CEOs who were spanked express great
affection for their parents. It’s not just bad parents who spank. ‘So do very good parents,’ he says.
‘They would be even better parents if they didn’t spank, and their kids would be doing even
better.’”).
337. See, e.g., LEFKOWITZ, supra note 292 and accompanying text. Compare Baumrind,
Causally Relevant Research, supra note 21, at 10 (“The 3 children (all girls) of parents who totally
abstained from spanking at all time points, were not more competent by adolescence than those
whose parents spanked occasionally. All were prosocial, but two were very low on selfassertiveness
and the one who was self-assertive and achievement-oriented manifested severe
internalizing and externalizing symptoms.”), with Diana Baumrind, The Influence of Parenting Style
on Adolescent Competence and Substance Use, 11 J. EARLY ADOLESCENCE 56, 69-71 (1991)
[hereinafter Baumrind, Influence] (showing that children in authoritative families (who were
spanked, sometimes often) displayed minimal internalizing and externalizing problems, and had
generally healthy self-assertiveness), and supra note 217 and accompanying text.