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Effect of corporal punishment of children
Negative effects of corporal punishment
Non corporal punishment in schools
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Over the years, the use of corporal punishment or physical punishment, which is also known as spanking, has been argued and debated upon. Children need to be disciplined and though there are different forms of discipline, sometimes all a child needs is a little spanking to set them straight. Corporal punishment is the deliberate infliction of pain as retribution for an offense, or for the purpose of disciplining or reforming a wrongdoer, or to deter attitudes or behavior deemed unacceptable. The argument over whether to spank or not to spank usually devolves into two points of view. The “No Spankers” contend that spanking is child abuse, and that it is associated with various adult pathologies. They have consistently argued that there is "always an alternative" to spanking, and that spanking teaches children that ‘might’ is right. They believe that spanking teaches children that violence is an acceptable way of getting one's way, and that since most of the same adults who spank also teach that violence is not generally acceptable, spanking "confuses" children. Many experts have argued that children who are spanked are likely to be more aggressive and may have sexual problems later in life (Web). A study conducted by Murray Straus shows that spanking hinders the development of empathy, remorse or compassion in toddlers. The study also shows that toddlers who are spanked do not develop a conscience of what is right or wrong, but rather will stop the negative behavior for a short time to prevent getting spanked. The study argues that spanking chips away at the bond between parent and child. She also believes that children who are spanked will develop trust issues, will be more likely to become anxious or depressed, more likely t... ... middle of paper ... ... my brother did not respect the form of training my mother used, he could have used this opportunity to his advantage. As a final point, everyone is entitled to use whatever form of punishment they deem fit on their children, but if the child knew that spanking was in the package, they would take their parents more seriously. They would be more cautious of the decisions they made. People might call this fear, but fear sometimes makes people stronger. Each time we face our fear, we gain courage, confidence and strength. It is fear of going to jail that make us obey the laws of our country and hence make us better citizens. This same analogy can be applied in terms of “the spanking of a child”. The fear of being spanked makes us respect and obey our parents, therefore actually creating a good parent and child relationship contrary to what the “other side” may think.
Proponents of spanking bans have a tendency to label spanking as corporal punishment. They then categorize it along with many abusive activities. Psychologist Kerby Alvy explains corporal punishment as, “pinching, pulling ears and hair, shaking, slapping, smacking, spanking, swatting, hitting, kicking, punching, paddling, using switches, hair brushes, belts and ironing cords, and having children kneel on gravel or ...
Spanking is an important aspect of a child’s social development and should not be considered an evil form of abuse. In her argument, Debra Saunders says that there is an obvious difference between beating a child and spanking a child, and parents know the boundary. Spanking is the most effective form of discipline when a child knows doing something is wrong, but the child does it anyway. A child who is properly disciplined through spanking is being taught how to control her or his impulses and how to deal with all types of authorities in future environments. Parents can control their child’s future behavior by using spanking in early childhood, because if...
The use of spanking is one of the most controversial parenting practices and also one of the oldest, spanning throughout many generations. Spanking is a discipline method in which a supervising adult deliberately inflicts pain upon a child in response to a child’s unacceptable behaviour. Although spanking exists in nearly every country and family, its expression is heterogeneous. First of all the act of administering a spanking varies between families and cultures. As Gershoff (2002) pointed out, some parents plan when a spanking would be the most effective discipline whereas some parents spank impulsively (Holden, 2002). Parents also differ in their moods when delivering this controversial punishment, some parents are livid and others try and be loving and reason with the child. Another source of variation is the fact that spanking is often paired with other parenting behaviours such as, scolding, yelling, or perhaps raging and subsequently reasoning. A third source of variation concerns parental characteristics. Darling and Steinberg (1993) distinguished between the content of parental acts and the style in which it was administered (Holden, 2002). With all this variation researchers cannot definitively isolate the singular effects of spanking.
Spanking a child is a controversial issue. On one side of the debate are people who believe spanking is a necessary component of parenting. On the contrary are people who think spanking a child is destructive. Somewhere in the middle are people who believe spanking is legitimate only when used correctly. Part of the reason for the debate is that some parents and experts define spanking differently. To some, spanking means slapping a child on the rear-end, while others believe it is a form of corporal punishment that does not cause injury. By showing how each perspective of spanking supports their claim and defining spanking, one will be able to form an opinion.
First of all, spanking does not lead to violence. Our surrounding world and media do. "The average sixteen-year- old has watched 18,000 murders during his formative years, including a daily bombardment of stabbings, shootings, hangings, decapitations, and general dismemberment" (Meier 34). It seems unjust to blame parents who are trying to raise their children properly for today's violence. If a child touches a hot stove he does not become a more violent person because of it, he just learns not to do it again because he learned a valuable lesson from the pain (Meier 34).
The issue of spanking is whether it is justifiable or an act of child abuse. Some child specialists, such as Christine Walsh and Michael Boyle, argue that if a parent must administer a spanking, it should not be through anger and only as a last option when other forms of discipline have been deemed unsuccessful. They say that for a spanking to be instructive it must be...
You think that a child could trust their parents with anything but what if this isn’t something they would like to hear? So to avoid that, now you’re missing out on something that you might now even be upset over, but they can no longer trust you. When you spank a kid they’re not learning that what they did was right or wrong, they’re learning that now they have to be sneakier or that they can practice such behavior only when the parent that does the punishing is not around. So there is not real correction of behavior occurring. This may also effect the kinds of relationships the child gets into for example, abusive ones thinking that the hitting is coming out of love or quite frankly they’re not good enough for anything better than what they have, otherwise known as low self-esteem. When you’re angry you wish someone would understand you so why not talk to your child and try to understand what it is that is making them feel upset. When you are young you don’t know what other way to get attention or to be played with or touched but to cry. You wouldn’t hit a toddler if they drew on the wall because they didn’t know any better, yet. Taking that a child might be smaller that’s the only way they know how to express that they don’t like something due to their most obvious lack of experience. This may also cause a child to not know handle different
Spankings are usually given by a parent, legal guardian, teacher, or other person in authority over a minor. Generally, spankings are given when a child displays unacceptable behavior such as being rude, foul language, stealing, fighting, and other acts of disobedience. Wikipedia states that in most societies, “parents are regarded as those having the duty of disciplining their children and the right to spank them is appropriate” even though this is changing in many countries. There are government agencies, laws, and policies in place for most states that outline the proper way to utilize corporal punishment. When these laws are followed, children should be safe in most circumstances when they are corrected with corporal punishments. There will always be a risk of child abuse because of the way some people in today’s society don’t value life but I don’t bel...
Many Americans who are over the age of 30 remember being spanked as a child. Swats on the rear end as a form of discipline was used for everything from lying to talking to one’s parents with disrespect (Matrz, 2001). The number of swats and severity of the swats was usually directly tied to the seriousness of the offense. Following the era of free love and the me generation during the 1960’s and 1970’s Americans began to take a second look at the use of spanking for punishment and turned away from it. However, official’s courts around the nation have ruled over and over again that spanking is indeed an acceptable form of discipline (Matrz, 2001).
Spanking is defined as an act of slapping, especially on the buttocks as a form of corporal punishment for children. It acts as a method of redirecting a child’s behavior. Spanking should not be outlawed because reasoning and taking away privileges may often be ineffective approaches to modify a child’s behavior, especially at a younger age. Parents have the responsibility to keep their children away from grave physical danger, and verbal lectures without consequences are often ignored or forgotten. Because there are various alternatives to corporal punishment, spanking must solely be applied as the last resort of disciplining a misbehaved child.
As with all the forms of correction, the concepts of punishments and discipline are absolute opposites. Punishment is motivated by anger, focuses on the past, and results in wither compliance or rebellion and feeling of shame, guilt and hostility. But on the other hand, discipline is motivated by love for the child, focus on the future, and have results of obedience and feeling of security. Parents want their children to understand that the gentle sting of a spanking is connected to the greater and often long-term pain of harmful choices. A child should always receive a clear warning before any offense that might merit a spanking and understand why they are receiving the spanking. As Jared Pingleton says in his article; “Parenting is a hard job. None of us do it perfectly. And to make it even more challenging, none of our kids come with an instruction manual attached. But our children need us to do it to the best of our ability, with all the wisdom, love, gentleness and strength we can muster. We won’t go wrong if we exercise a firm and consistent hand with a soft and loving
Jennifer Shu in the CNN Health article. Spanking has now been linked to mental illnesses such as mood disorders, anxiety disorders, substance abuse, and personality disorders. (Shu) Children pick up on the violence that spanking is associated with and become violent and aggressive themselves. Needless to say, the child may be fine in the beginning of being spanked, but later in life they could develop a major mental illness and could lead them down the wrong
Studies have shown that children around the age of 2 don’t fully grasp or understand the reason why they were spanked, limited verbal skills and are unable to distinguish a behavioral plan to correct it. “These factors suggest that infants and young toddlers could be particularly vulnerable to emotional trauma and stress as a result of punishment, including spanking, because developmentally they are less equipped to understand punishment and to change their behavior to comply with their parents’ expectations” (Slade, E, 2014,
In today society children are becoming more and more disrespectful. Most parents do their best to make their child understand what acceptable behavior is and what is not. When a parents spanks a child, he or she should then realize they have made a mistake and know not to do it again. Children aren’t born knowing what is right or wrong, so as a good parents we must set boundaries for our children. However, spanking your child is not a good way to teach your children, instead we should set limits for them and giving them positive praise is more affective.
Spanking is a disciplinary act that has been used by parents for years now. It does not seem like a big deal at the time, but spanking does have long term effects that can affect the child even when he or she is a adult. Spanking whether it is appropriate for parents or any guardian of a child should be allowed to spank their child or not. There is a lot of controversy because parents say kids need to be disciplined when they are behaving badly. Others say parents shouldn 't spank their child because they long-term outcome is worse and they are not teaching the child a lesson. Some parents agree with these specialist and don 't spank their child but use other ways of discipline that doesn 't involve hurting