Effective Punishment with Kids

1527 Words4 Pages

This essay will discuss whether it is thought that punishment is effective and whether it is currently thought to work, additionally it will examine the best ways to change a child’s behaviour in terms of positive and negative reinforcements. The issue of child punishment has received considerable critical attention within many cultures. Punishment towards children can be argued to be a very controversial area. It is argued that many people have been brought up with distinctive beliefs about punishments toward a child. A child’s upbringing is argued by many researchers to be key to how they will go on to treat their own children in the future. This can surely be argued to be a negative effect of physical punishment. It is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore the effects of what severe punishment may have on a child. Later convictions of violence and the evidence of damaging effects on well-being, corporal punishment has on children is overwhelming. However, it is not ingrained that corporal punishment is definitely damaging. There is also sufficient evidence to corporal punishment being an effective form of discipline, if used appropriately. It is thought that corporal punishment helps parents retain control over their children’s behaviour. This essay will consider the various forms of punishment, such as physical punishments and whether they are considered to work. This is essay will also consider effective ways of changing a child’s behaviour including the use of classical and operant conditioning and studies that support the theories and how they can be applied to real life. Classical conditioning for example uses learning through association, memory prompts the person to associate an object/ sound to a certain behaviour. ... ... middle of paper ... ...ational Review of Victimology, vol.12, no.2, p.159-187. Tully, T (2003) ‘pavlovs dogs’, Current Biology, vol.14, issue 4, p. R117–R119. Turner, H and Muller, P (2004) ‘long term effects of child corporal punishment on depressive symptoms in young adults: potential moderators and mediators’, Journal of Family Issues, vol.25, no.6, p.761-782 Watkinson, A & Rock, L (2014) ‘Child physical punishment and international human rights: Implications for social work education’, International Social Work’, 1-13. Winstok, Z (2013) ‘Israeli Mothers’ willingness to use corporal punishment to correct the misbehaviour of their elementary school children’, Journal of Interpersonal Violence, vol.29, no.1, p.44-65. Wyckoff, J and Unell, B.C (2010) Discipline without Shouting or Spanking: Practical Solutions to the Most Common Preschool Behaviour Problems. New York: Meadowbrook Press.

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