Study: Spanking Children Briefly Reduces Stress Levels of Parents

Parents who spank their children could benefit from a short-term reduction in stress levels, new research shows.

The study, published Tuesday in English Home and Garden, found that parents who physically punish their unruly kids report feeling briefly more at ease after doing so, corroborating previous findings that sparing the rod could make you mental.

"I have three children, none of which I really wanted, and the last thing I need after coming home from a hard day at the office is a riot of little brats screaming about being astronauts," the study's Principle Investigator Pamela Coleman shared. "But they won't shut up. 'I'm going to outer space!', and all that, until you give 'em a smack."

Although Coleman acknowledged in her conclusions that corporal punishment not only doesn't appear to improve the behavior of the children it's inflicted upon but actually exacerbates it, she reiterated how better it makes her feel.

"So you smack 'em, and you yell at them that you'll send them to the moon all right, and then they start acting all weird and smashing things," she said. "But then you have another reason to slap them some more. And maybe have a few drinks to take the last of the edge off."

Coleman is currently being investigated for felony child abuse.