Corporal Punishment: Physical Child Abuse

Corporal Punishment Many kids have gotten spanked by their parents when misbehaving, I myself have had my share of spankings. While some people might say that corporal punishment is a form of physical child abuse, it’s really a form of discipline that parents use to get their child to understand what they did wrong. What is considered physical child abuse? Well according to the AHA (American Human Association) physical child abuse is “defined as non-accidental trauma or physical injury caused by punching, beating, kicking, biting, burning or otherwise harming a child.” In some ways spanking may seem like a form of physical abuse, but the point of spanking a child to discipline them is not hurt them. It doesn’t fall under the category of

Emotional or psychological abuse is defined as the infliction of anguish, pain, or distress through verbal or nonverbal acts. Emotional/psychological abuse includes but is not limited to verbal assaults, insults, threats, intimidation, humiliation, and harassment. Corporal punishment does not fall under the category of emotional and physiological abuse, but it can lead to a child thinking that a parent doesn’t love them which cause physiological damage, like lowering their self-esteem, and can make them feel lonely and abandoned, but it’s still not abuse. “Corporal punishment, or the use of physical contact intended to immediately curtail problem behavior by causing pain but not injury, has been repeatedly linked to negative child emotional and behavioral outcomes”(Wimsatt. et. al. pg. 226). While it might not seem like corporal punishment is a form of emotional and psychological abuse, it can lead to similar symptoms of emotional and psychological abuse. Mackenbach study confirmed that even gentle forms of parental discipline have significant effects on the development of a child’s behavior.

When in reality it’s the way parents have taught their kids behave over many years. Corporal punishment isn’t physical abuse it’s a way to teach children. Many of these parents take after religion, where in some religions they tell a parent that if a child is misbehaving they must spank a child in order to correct their bad behavior. People have a right to do what the feel is necessary to discipline their child. But is hitting a child really necessary to get them to learn, it might be necessary at a young age, since they are unable to understand, but once a child gets older they begin to understand so corporal punishment isn’t