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Impact of corporal punishment on children
Impact of corporal punishment on children
Corporal Punishment: Merits And Demerits
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Marjorie Gunnoe makes several great arguments in the article “Parents should have the Right to Properly Discipline Their Children.” Honestly, do I think all children should receive corporal punishment? No, I do not think spanking is effective for everyone. I believe all kids respond to certain forms of punishment differently: but I do think in most cases spanking works. I think people who get spanked as a child learn to be more respectful not only to their parents but to other members of their society; as well as, they learn to take responsibility for their actions, and they know there are consequences to their actions and they can accept them. My mother tried to put me in time out when I was younger; she honestly did not want to spank me to
“Whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.”
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.
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).
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 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.
“My father liked me, when I wasn't being an idiot. And he loved me, too -- enough to spank the daylights out of me when I was being an idiot.” -- Diana Gabaldon, Outlander
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.
I personally do not advocate spanking. I could not imagine losing my temper to a point where I thought I needed to spank my child. While I do anticipate that having children will be a real test of patience, I do not expect that I will lose my patience so much that I will spank my children. I find spanking to be a real contradiction to what most parents tell their children. Most parents do not allow their children to hit, whether they are angry or not. Even when kids think another kid did something wrong, or bad, they are still not allowed to hit. If a parent tells a kid this, and then turns around and spanks the kid when they do something wrong, how will the kid ever learn that hitting is wrong? In my opinion, there has to be a better way to discipline children. I think that sending a child to a room where they cannot interact with anyone else, and then taking away a privilege would be a better way of handling discipline. Also, when I was a child, I can remember that when I was angry, my dad would come in to my room after I had time to cool down and talk to me about why I was angry. I can remember these as really fond times with my dad. It helped me identify why I was so angry, and most of the time it was at my mom for not letting me have my way. When I could identify why I was angry, my dad and I could come up with a solution to solve the problem. I think that rather than spanking, this is a good way to discipline children.
Spanking is a disciplinary act that has been used by parents for years now. It does not seem like a big deal at the time, but spanking does have long term effects that can affect the child even when he or she is a adult. Spanking whether it is appropriate for parents or any guardian of a child should be allowed to spank their child or not. There is a lot of controversy because parents say kids need to be disciplined when they are behaving badly. Others say parents shouldn 't spank their child because they long-term outcome is worse and they are not teaching the child a lesson. Some parents agree with these specialist and don 't spank their child but use other ways of discipline that doesn 't involve hurting
Many parents find themselves using frequent sayings such as, “do not touch that”, do not do that”, and “stop being mean to your sister!” Along with those sayings, parents still refer to a specific passage from the Bible, Proverbs 22:15, which states: Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him. The chapters 22 and 23 of Proverbs speak of how the rod should be used and when. It also tells parents spanking the child will not kill him. Many researchers and parents would argue these facts and state is does cause harm but if they could understand the limitations of the teachings, incorporate communication, and set boundaries the use of a rod would instill wisdom, instruction, and understanding in a child.
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.
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
Parents Hitting Their Children For this coursework, I will be looking at whether parents should be allowed to hit their children or children that are being looked after by them. Like most questions there are usually two sides to the argument. The 1st reason why parents should be allowed to hit their kids is to enforce a form of discipline. The other reason why hitting children is bad is because by hitting a child, they may be emotionally scared for life.
Has your child ever misbehaved in a store? Have they ever thrown a fit because they didn’t get what they wanted? Did they have a tantrum because they didn’t like the decision you made? Have you ever wanted to spank your child for misbehaving? Well, maybe you shouldn’t spank your child as a punishment. Studies show that when you spank your kid repeatedly, it can have negative effects on them. Facts also show that spanking your child isn’t only harming the child, but it could be harming the parent as well. Parents shouldn’t spank their kids or use corporal punishment as a punishment. The reason for this is because capital punishment affects children’s learning in a negative way, it affects areas of the child’s brain causing violence, and capital
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.