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Impact of corporal punishment on children
Impact of corporal punishment on children
Discipline children with spankings
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When Does Discipline Turn Into Child Abuse?
Child abuse, as well as discipline can vary in many different ways, the question is when do the two go too far. Discipline can be done by spanking a child, the effects should be taken as child abuse. The act of discipline towards a child should be limited when it comes to being physical regimen.
Spanking goes back to the old days of discipline, parents spanked their kids for bad behavior for many years, so why just now is it becoming known as child abuse? Today's society is full of influence by social media and the opinions of peers. These days spanking is also done with belts, which make it worse for the kid, it is more like a whip and leaving more marks and scars on the kid. Spanking and whipping
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Child abuse can be triggered even by things seen on social media. The “kinky” post online using whips, handcuffs, and beating can influence a parent to abuse their kid. A child who is prone to it, is more likely to abuse thinking society says it’s okay. A child who grew up with abuse is more likely become a child abuser themselves. They have their mindset, telling them that it's perfectly fine too treat a child like garbage. A child can become so numb to the abuse that they will sink into their own sadness, become depressed, use pain medication that they are more likely to overdose on. Spanking your child can have many effects on their adult life.
On the other hand, spanking and threatening a belt might work with child after they perform a bad behavior scares them and they don't do that behavior again, it may have worked. The child can now know they will get punished with a spanking. Not all parents excessively spank their child where they are afraid of them, therefore abuse is never a question in the family. Child abuse does not always mean that the abuser was abused as a kid, some kids will grow up with the mind of an abuser no matter what their childhood was
“In the same society who hold different moral or religious convictions may disagree about what type of behavior toward a child amounts to abuse.” (Gale, 2014). Slapping a child when they act up is a form discipline to some individuals. To a certain extent it would be considered abuse. As a parent, they do not want you to tell them how to handle their child simply because that is their child. Every day there is a child out there being abused and will not speak up. Some children think that if they do decide to try and get help, people would not believe them. Also being abused and letting someone know maybe embarrassing. In the article “Child Abuse.” Opposing Viewpoint Online Collection, it goes on to say, “Even people who are reasonably confident that they have witnessed child abuse may be reluctant to report it. Some may not want to become involved in what they consider a private family matter. Others may believe that reporting the problem will do no good.” People just turn a blind eye to things that do not involve them. They feel like it is not their business. Individuals that know the abuser could also be frightened themselves. CHARLES
Spanking, a supposed form of child abuse, is the best way to discipline a child who has behaved against guidelines previously discussed by parents, and does not harm a child in the grand scheme of life. Spanking a child will result in the betterment of a child’s behavior, the lessening chance of the child developing a behavioral disorder, and the assurance that the child will blossom into a well-developed and responsible adult.
Critics of spanking need to understand that spanking and abuse are not the same. Spanking is a quick squat on the buttock that causes temporary pain. Child abuse is physical injury such as beating, kicking, or punching a child with cruel intent. Psychiatrist William Glasser makes a distinction between the two. Glasser explains, “Discipline is directed at the objectionable behavior, and the child will accept its consequences without resentment.” By contrast, he defined punishment as, “A response that is directed at the individual” (qtd. in Dobson 96). Spanking allows room for forgiveness and reconciliation. Abuse comes from a place of hostility. It is harsh and leaves little room for forgiveness or reconciliation. Yes, spanking may cause brief discomfort, but it is not the same as beating, punching, or kicking a child.
Holden (2002) reviewed Gershoff’s (2002) meta-analyses of eighty-eight (88) studies and noted that there were both positive and negative outcomes associated with the punishment of spanking. According to Gershoff’s (2002) analysis, the one positive outcome was immediate compliance by the child (Holden, 2002). This result was found to be consistent in five (5) studies. Immediate compliance was defined as the child complying to the parents directive within five (5) seconds. In stark contrast, there were four (4) negative outcomes. The analysis showed a negative effect on the quality of the parent child relationship, the child’s mental health, the child’s perception of being a victim of physical child abuse, and also impacted aggression in adulthood (Holden, 2002).
The main reason people want spanking to become illegal is because they believe that it leads to child abuse. They argue that people spank their kids out of anger instead of using it as a disciplinary method, and it is not right to be able to hit a child even if they are misbehaving. “Children are the only class that is unprotected”
Many authorities and psychologists believe that spanking breaks a child's spirit and only leads to violence. They think that it causes the child to become depressed, angry or hostile and they have conducted many studies to prove these things. This type of harsh punishment occurs often, but it is called child abuse. There is a great difference between abusing a child and properly disciplining a child. "One is an act of love; the other is an act of hostility, and they are as different as night and day" (Dobson 35).
Children are abused, in part, because they are unable to defend themselves against stronger and more powerful adults (Barnett, Miller-Perrin, Perrin 61). Researchers only recently have recognized that spanking is used primarily with young children and that the incidence and severity of spanking often diminishes by the time children are 8-10 years of age (Day 80).
Spanking teaches the child that violence is a socially accepted behavior to attain a desired result. To better understand this concept, we must first look at how a child’s brain works. From infancy, children learn through observation and imitation. Studies have shown that infants as young as forty-two minutes can successfully replicate simple facial expressions (Metzloff, Decety 492). By eight months, infants can imitate basic motor movement, even after twenty-four hours have passed since the initial movement occurred. At fourteen months, children can apply an imitation to an external situation up to a week after the initial imitation. (Windell, 67-68, 221). A famous example of this is Albert Bandura’s Bobo doll experiment. Christopher Green of York University helps interpret Bandura’s experiment and results: While acknowledging that certain children may have inherited aggressive personalities, Bandura demonstrated that the majority of personality is learned. Adult models were escorted to a room and shown various toys to play with while child observers watched from outside the room. Among the various toys was a clown “bobo” doll. In some “play” sessions, the models demonstrated aggression toward the doll by punching, kicking, hitting and yelling at it. In other sessions, the models quietly pla...
Swat! The entire store tries not to stare at the overwhelmed mother spanking her three-year-old whaling son. As if the screaming tantrum wasn't enough of a side show at the supermarket. This method, or technique perhaps, has been around for decades, even centuries. Generations have sat on grandpa’s lap and listened to the stories of picking their own switch or getting the belt after pulling off a devilish trick. So why then has it become a major controversy in the past few decades? The newest claim is that spanking and other forms of physical punishment can lead to increased aggression, antisocial behavior, physical injury and mental health problems for children. Brendan L. Smith uses many case studies and psychologists findings in his article “The Case Against Spanking” to suggest that parents refrain from physically punishing their children due to lasting harmful effects.
Why, then, when they "misbehave" do we not hold, rock, or talk to them? Why do we instead reach for spanking, much as an alcoholic or drug addict reaches for their fix (Dale)? Spanking is like an addiction when the parent always spanks their child. Parents care and worry about their kids over everything else yet chose to hit them when they are misbehaving. When drug addicts or alcoholics feel the need for a fix they go and get it how is it any different then the need to harm their child when they 're not behaving well. Parents over use the spanking technique and it just becomes a habit to use on their child. Another reason we habitually spank our children is that we have become neurologically hooked on "the good fight." With fear and anger comes the release of adrenaline. As this hormone begins coursing through our veins, our hearts start beating faster, our muscles tense, and we prepare for action (Dale). When us humans get mad or angry our muscles tense and we neurologically want to fight. The adrenaline that travels through our veins makes us get ready for ¨fight¨ mode when we are not getting our way or when a child is not listening. Our body reacts in this way because we get so frustrated that our mind thinks we need to fight against the child that is not taking us seriously. Parents may not realize that they
Some people believe spanking a child is child abuse, and that it causes the child to grow up aggressive and violent. This would mean that every child that is spanked during their developmental stages will grow up to be an example of bad behavior. However, there is no actual data or information that can confirm that spanking a child will cause a child to grow up to be violent or too aggressive. Children have been trained to obey rules or a set code of behavior for centuries. It is the best way to mold a child to be a respectable adult, and they can pass on the behavior to their future children. It may not always happen, but its pretty effective.
The children could get aggressive over time and start hitting his/her parents. A 2002 study found that across time periods and across countries children that were spanked regularly were found to be more aggressive from childhood to adulthood (brookings.edu). According to several studies done in 1987 and 1990, the more children were hit, or spanked, by their parent or an adult the more likely they were to hit others including peers, siblings, and their spouse later in life along with their future children (handinhandpartenting.org). According to CNN, children that have been regularly spanked have what is known as hostile attribution bias (CNN.com). This means that their brains just automatically expect people to be mean to them or spank them. This makes children essentially hostile towards everyone. If someone is coming towards them like they are going to hit them, then they are going to “bull up” and fight them back. Facts prove that spanking your kids makes them more hostile and more defensive towards others. They don’t always have to be in danger or have others being mean to them for the children to get aggressive and dis the payment back out. It is a proven fact that children who are more aggressive as children are more aggressive as adults. Other sources show that if your child was spanked at school, then they are more aggressive and hostile towards other kids. This is because the protective region in the brain “fires up” and puts them into protective mode. They then tend to mistreat teachers and children when they feel threatened. The more kids are spanked the higher the risk for them to commit Juvenal crime suck as assaulting others, and constantly beating people. Some studies show that adults that were spanked as kids will handle high stressful tension with aggression towards others. Studies also show that children tend to be meaner to their friends as a way of showing their
There is a lot of violence in the world today, but think about this: what if these people were once beaten and physically abused as children? In the article, Parents and Experts Split on Spanking, an expert, Dr. Spock, states that the reason there is a lot of violence in the world could be because of all the spanking that the parents do to their children (1). This statement could possibly be true. As children grow up, they’re always told that it is not nice to hit others. Furthermore, they’re told that if they do, there will be consequences. But if you think about it, how are these children suppose to follow the “no hitting” rule if they are constantly being spanked for their misbehaviors? In the end, it leads me to believe that if children are spanked after misbehaving, they will continue to grow up believing that violence is ultimately the answer.
Child abuse is one of the highest growing social problems in the United States. A social problem is, “a condition that a significant number of people believe to be a problem. A condition in which there is a sizable difference between the ideals of a society and its actual achievements” (Coleman et al. 2006:2). However, society has changed the way it views the issue, and is working towards finding a solution to this awful problem. Child abuse encompasses four main areas: physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, and neglect. Child abuse is considered a sociological phenomenon because it is a learned behavior. Learning the social patterns as to why people abuse will give a better understanding to its reasons, and also the development of society in the way that it views children. 3.6 million children were victims of abuse in the year 2006. Sixty four percent were victims of neglect, sixteen percent suffered from physical abuse, and eight percent were sexually abused. Also in 2006, 1,530 children died as a result of abuse; an average of four children everyday (Child Welfare Information Gateway 2008).
Secondly, physical abuse is purposely causing physical harm or injuries to a child. Being physically abused includes being hit, kicked, or shaken. Parents who are abusive to their children often claim that their abuse is a form of discipline. There is a significant difference in abusing your child and trying to show them discipline. The whole point of using discipline is to show a child right from wrong. It becomes physical abuse instead of discipline when your...