Do You Think Spanking A Child Is Acceptable Form Of Punishment? Actress Eva Mendes Stirs Debate On Instagram

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NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Should you spank your child? Hollywood actress Eva Mendes sparked lots of talk on both sides with a post on social media.

To spank or not to spank? That is the age-old parenting question.

"I'm not often asked what my favorite parenting quote is, but I'll post it anyway. 'Spanking does for a child's development what hitting a spouse does for a marriage,'" Mendes wrote on Instagram.

New Yorkers told CBS2's Andrea Grymes they are torn on the idea.

"I would probably agree with her. I think there are other ways to discipline," said Lauren Ying of the Upper West Side.

"I'm from the island and we were raised with our family spanking us, but I think now in this generation, you should give your child a chance," added Jackie Wong of Mount Vernon.

"The spank in the butt for kids, definite. Smack on the hand, that should be allowed," another person said.

Mendes, a mom of two, was flooded with a range of similar comments.

"Yes to this quote! I don't understand how spanking is deemed acceptable for a child when it is frowned upon for adults," one person wrote in response on the social media site.

"I don't know. I was spanked and now I'm a respectful adult," another person wrote.

"I completely agree with what Ms. Mendes said," clinical psychologist Dr. Jeff Gardere said.

Gardere, who is also an associate professor at Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine, pointed to American Academy of Pediatrics research from 2018, which found children who experience repeated use of corporal punishment tended to develop more aggressive behaviors and mental health disorders.

"There are many of us as adults now, when we were kids we were spanked. But I believe back then, certainly we didn't have the data, the scientific studies that showed that spanking can cause a lot of emotional issues with children," Gardere said.

Gardere says if you get the urge to spank your child, count to 10 or even 100 first to calm yourself down. He recommends disciplining in an even-toned consistent way, with positive reinforcement and, depending on your kids' ages, timeouts. He says those are much better options.