Spanking Children
Yelling in public, crying over the smallest things, throwing a tantrum every five minutes; all these things have the same solution, which is spanking. People think spanking is a way to raise their children. Spanking is used among parents to teach their children a lesson if they act in a way they are not suppose to act. Some parents use spanking as a way to discipline, a way to teach the child a lesson, or it can be a natural thing in their household. The method of spanking as child rearing has caused some controversy about whether spanking negatively influence a child’s future behaviors and actions. The practice of spanking can later reflect their violent behavior as they get older. Children can easily misunderstand the message
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Violent behavior and spanking have been shown to be in correlation in a study of Tulane University in which they found that spanking children at the age 3 increases the chance they will behave aggressively once they reach kindergarten (Study:Spanking Kids Leads to More Aggressive Behavior #1). Spanking children does not discipline children nor does it not turn out the way the parent wants it to have on children. Instead, hitting children creates an aggressive person who will carry their violent punishment along with them to school or anywhere. There have been other studies that shows the relation of child’s behavior and spanking: Gunnoe and Mariner analyzed data of American children, the National Survey of Families and Households. They studied 1,112 children in two age groups: 4-7 and 8-11. They examined the effect of physical punishment on two aspects of child’s behavior: fighting at school and antisocial behavior. This illustrate another principle: that the psychological harmful effects of physical punishment are parallel to the harmful effects of physical abuse, expect that the magnitude of the effect is less (Straus #3). Evident in the study by Gunnoe and Mariner, there is a correspondence of physical abuse, like spanking, and a child’s behavior. Children shows both violent behavior and antisocial behavior. Similar to the study by …show more content…
Someone might say that spanking children earlier in their years does not affect them because they will eventually forget it. However, it is important to realize that the beginning years are crucially important to one’s life when Sigmund Freud would say that the lessons a child has learned in the first few years will set the pattern for the rest of the child’s life (Slife #93). Another might say that the child will understand right from wrong through spanking. On the contrary, spanking leaves somewhat of a scar on the child when Oprah Winfrey said that spanking children reeled off something to the effect that spanking leaves a violent bent into the psyches of children and it gives a mixed message to the children (Slife#96). Another person might also say that spanking children is a natural way of discipline. Moreover, such punishment should not be the first resort when physical punishment makes more sense if the parent tries other methods of discipline first, and when spanking or slapping seems necessary, explain the reasons for it (“The Spanking Debate” #1). Spanking should not be permitted for the well-being of children. The children should be raised well and become the best version of
Spanking doesn’t allow children to learn the reasons why to act appropriately. When parents use physical punishment, such as spanking, to discipline their children, they do so in order to improve their child’s behavior. According to a report composed by a lead researcher in the field of pediatrics, spanking does not teach children the reason for why they are being punished or why their behavior was wrong. Spanking teaches children to act in a desired way only because of fear of being punished. Being a victim of spanking, I only feared the idea of being spanked, and that is why I changed my behavior for the time being. I did not actually understand the reasoning for why I was being punished. Spanked children do not understand the positive and important reasons for acting properly.
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
Growing up as children, from a very early stage in life we are taught by our parents and guardians to follow the simple rules set in the family setting as well as being respectful to everyone. As a child if one misbehaved or failed to live by the code of conduct, they ought to be disciplined in order to get back on track. Discipline simply meant to impart knowledge and skills. Many times however, discipline is mistaken for punishment and control and this poses a great challenge to parents on effective methods of instilling discipline in their children from one stage of life to the next for instance; how parents ought to discipline older children varies from the way they are required to handle toddlers.
Spanking a child is not against the law in most places. However, parents who use it in their homes are being accused of child abuse. The Chicago Tribune published an article that urged readers to report child abuse when they become aware of it. In the article “Child abuse in plain View” the author describes spanking as a type of abuse that happens behind closed doors (“Child abuse in plain View”). Like most critics of corporal punishment, the author is trying to link spanking to abuse. The author`s concern about abuse is a valid one. Abuse should be reported immediately. However, any attempt to define spanking as abuse is wrong. Spanking a child is not abuse. It is an effective way of discipline that helps guide the child into becoming a respectful and responsible person.
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.
The Controversy Behind Child 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, there are people who think spanking a child is destructive.
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).
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).
From helping them read and write, to teaching them right from wrong, parenting is a huge job and adds a lot of pressure on parents because they want their child to succeed. However, different parenting styles brings on different characteristics and reactions out of their children, which is why when it comes to parenting, one is entitled to their own opinion on how to discipline their children accordingly. When it comes to disciplining, it can be done by taking away television time, phone time, or even taking away a favorite snack, but what about spanking as a form of discipline? Spanking by far, is considered the biggest controversy when discipline is being discussed, and there are many opinions on if spanking helps or hurts the child. With
Spanking is commonly associated with parents attempting to correct behavior in a child; ultimately often out of frustration and/or anger with the child’s behavior. In the heat of the moment, most parents do not associate the long term psychosocial or behavioral effects the act of spanking can have on a child. The dangers of these effects derived from how children think and behave show us that spanking is not an effective form of discipline.
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.
A common form of punishment of a child is corporal punishment in the form of spanking. Spanking is defined as slapping that results in physical pain, but no damage. Many people believe that spanking should be banned and replaced with verbal punishment due to the apparent negative effects of spanking. What these people fail to realize is that parents should simply have limited rights to spank their child. Despite the apparent negative effects of corporal punishment, limited corporal punishment, in the form of spanking, helps children develop good behavior early and can be more effective than verbal punishment.
Numerous studies have shown the negative consequences associated with physically disciplining a child. Gershoff (2016) defines corporal punishment as “noninjurious, open-handed hitting with the intention of modifying child behavior”, yet there is a fine line between physical punishment and physical abuse. Many studies conducted have proven that physical punishment towards children has negatively impacted their behavioral, emotional, cognitive and development progress later in their lifetimes. According to Gershoff (2013), half of the children in a 33-country survey by UNICEF reported having been physically punished by their parents. The prevalence of spanking in the United States is even greater, with two thirds of young children being spanked by their parents (65% of 19- to 35-month-olds), and most teenagers (85%) reporting that they were slapped or spanked by their mothers at some point in their lives.
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.
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.