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Is spanking good or bad for children research paper
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"All people have the right to protection of their physical integrity, and children are people too”(Hunt). Children are physically punished to correct their negative behaviors; however, there has been a dispute about whether or not it is acceptable for parents to spank their children as a form of punishment since children have the same rights to be respected like adults. Most adults would argue that it is acceptable for parents to physically punish their children with spanking because there are benefits to discipling children using this method, but even though the opposing argument is valid, spanking children as punishment has long term effects that can negatively change the child’s behavior. Documentation presents reasons why it is not okay for parents to spank their children as the only form of punishment.
One strong reason why most adults think it is acceptable to spank their children include the adults having the mentality of “if children to not get spanked, they will continue to
Many adults who were spanked as children grew up to become even more successful than those who were “spared the rod”(O’Callaghan). According to Murray Straus, Ph. D., professor of sociology at the Family Research Laboratory in New Hampshire, research links spanking to mental health problems such as depression and anxiety, and it also links to children ending up in detention homes, or adults in jail. Of course, not all spanked kids end up in prison; however, “not all smokers end their days hooked up to an oxygen tank,” says Straus, "but that doesn't mean that it's fine for parents to introduce their children to nicotine.”Just because there is the chance of children growing up without emotional damage, does not mean parents should take the risk of introducing it to the
Harvard Medical School . "The Spanking Debate." Harvard Mental Health Letter (2002): 1-3. Academic Search Premier. Web. 23 April 2011.
(Conclusion) With all these alternatives to spanking, and all the possible negative effects from spanking, why do people still spank? Personally I believe it’s a rite of passage, “I was spanked and I turned out fine, so I’m going to spank my child.” Or maybe it’s because hitting your child may relive just a little bit of anger? I can’t say for certain, because I don’t have a child, but if you do, and you spank your child ask yourself, why do you spank?
Nadine Block argues that spanking children is not a form of love or compassion, but rather an act of violence and disciplinary spanking should be an outlawed practice. Disciplinary spanking is a different thing than a depressed or angry parent spanking a child to relieve their mood. Spanking a child in order to remove the idea of performing an action known to the child to be unacceptable is something that every parent should do, and is not an act of abuse or violence. When used correctly, spanking children is a highly effective and loving response to unruly behavior, because the child learns how to behave and become an upstanding citizen (Dodson). If a child is not disciplined for improper actions, the child is more likely to develop behavior problems and illnesses such as ADHD, while a child who is properly disciplined is more likely to grow into a better-behaved individual (Shute).
Darcia begins her writing by first defining spanking as “hitting a child on the bottom with an open hand.” She then illustrates situations in which many parents may warrant the need for spanking. She follows with multiple examples of the negative effects of corporal punishment on the developing children ranging from increased aggression in retaliation to lack of trust
...ginning of humanity. It worked then, and it works now. Critics have decided to re-define spanking as abuse. They would like for everyone to believe the propaganda. The truth is, however that spanking has its benefits. A little pain has positive long term results. Parents can expect a well mannered respectful adult to be the result. Parents should decide if they want to spank their children; not society. One parent’s choice of discipline has no value over another’s. The key thing to remember when it comes to discipline is to discipline out of love for the child. Never spank a child while angry. Explain to the child why the spanking has to be given. Afterwards, show some affection. This way the child will feel loved and understand reconciliation (Dobson). The child will have no feelings of resentment. When parents follow these steps, discipline will never be abuse.
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 is alive and well today despite the antispanking prohibition. In a poll sponsored by Working Mother and the Epcot Center at Walt Disney World in Florida, 7,225 adults and 2,599 kids were surveyed (Hickey 48). When asked ?When should parents spank their children,? 51 percent replied ?When they think it?s necessary,? 30 percent said ?Only in extreme circumstances,? and only ten percent answered ?Never?(Hickey 48). Twelve percent of young adults, ages 18 to 34, which responded to the poll, said spanking should not occur; in comparison with the seven percent of both the 35-49 and 50-64 age groups which responded ?Never? (Hickey 48). The poll asked ?Which of these is (or was) most often used in your family to control children?s behavior?? As the prevalent choice, 37 percent responded ?Taking away privileges,? 23 percent said ?spanking,? 18 percent replied ?reasoning with the child,? four percent said ?bribes? and three percent answered ?ass...
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).
Finally, we need to know more about the personal resources of parents that can lessen the incidence of spanking. It is found that spanking sharply decreases as the parent ages. Despite ideological motivations, parents can and should be trained to understand alternative strategies of discipline (Day 93).
In the second article, “Spanking Children: Evidence and Issues,” the history of the controversy starts with interpretation of the bible scripture Proverbs 23:13-14. This particular scripture states, “Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you punish them with the rod, they will not die. Punish them with the rod and save them from death.” (Prov 13:24,KJV) Although it may seem self-explanatory, depending on what side of the spectrum a person is on whether its pro-corporal punishment, anti-corporal punishment, or conditional corporal punishment will determine how one feels about spanking children.
The way children are treat by their parents reflects from themselves and onto their peers. “… parents that are very sarcastic, a child will be very sarcastic with their peers…” Parents don’t realize the affects spanking causes too the children’s mental state. In the article written by Brendan L. Smith, he explains that physical punishment, including spanking, “...can lead to increase aggression, antisocial behavior, physical injury, and mental health problem for children.” Although physical punishment, such as spanking, may work momentarily, but it just causes the children to become more aggressive. (Smith 3) Over 30 countries have completely banned physical punishments for children. Elizabeth Gershoff, PhD, at the University of Texas at Austin, another expert on the issue says “Physical punishment doesn’t work to get kids to comply, so parents think they have to keep escalating it. That is why it is so dangerous…” (Smith
Have you ever been spanked? Maybe smacked? We all have our own stories of how our parents disciplined us, we take them as funny stories and even joke about them. If you were born in the 90s, 80s, 70s, 60s, you already know what I’m talking about and I bet many stories already ran through your mind right now. But as we grew up and time passed by, there has been this dilemma about this method of parenting. [2] “Parents feel mixed-up and uncomfortable about disciplining their children”. Few parents in modern times do not trust this kind of act of physical punishment at home and they think that is detrimental for kids. Therefore, a good amount of parents are trying to make the government restrict the parents who spank from doing so.
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.
Any parent who has threatened to spank a child to modify behavior has observed the immediate change in demeanor. Psychologists tell us, however, that corporal punishment has no more of a desired effect on a child in the long term than alternative disciplinary methods such as a timeout or revoking privileges. Sweden proved that corporal punishment is no more effective than alternative methods and law enforcement officers are no more burdened by the laws put in place to protect the physical integrity of children. If in fact opponents and proponents are both right, their methods both work equally as well as the other, which one is the right one? Can they both be right? Unless we are going to make it legal to go around hitting each other for being snarky, rude, disrespectful, not paying attention, or just out of irritation due to undesirable behavior, the right thing to do is protect the most innocent of our kind. The right thing to do is give our children the same rights we give our family, friends, neighbors, and strangers. The moral thing to do is lead by example. The answer is
As children grow up, they’re more than likely exposed to being disciplined in one way or another. “Surveys of parents show that 90 percent have used some form of physical punishment on their children” (Graziano 1). So therefore, we can all agree that when it comes down to being punished, parents more often than not resort to spanking their child(ren). That being said, many parents will readily agree that spanking a child should not be considered a form of child abuse. However, the question still stands: how far does the spanking have to go in order for it to be considered child abuse? Although some are convinced that there are better ways to discipline a child, there are others that maintain the idea that spanking is the best option for disciplinary action.