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Effects of corporal punishment on children
Is corporal punishment an appropriate form of punishment
Effects of corporal punishment on children
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Dani Ante
English 1020-003
Sarah Crotzer
17 Nov 2015
Spanking Leads to Negative Behavior, So Think Twice!
Every parent has differing beliefs in how a child must be disciplined. A child’s undesirable behavior is a cause for a parent to spank them to correct them. Simple mistakes made by children, who have yet to develop cognitive reasoning, are not deserving to experience pain. By definition in the psychological world, corporal punishment is used in like terms with spanking. It is the “use of physical force with the intention of causing a child to experience pain, but not to injury, for the purpose of correction or control of the child’s behavior” (Straus 3). There are countless of studies that has been done by psychologists on the effects
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According to a research done by Elizabeth Oddone Paolucci and Claudio Violato. They believed “that through experiencing corporal punishment, violent strategies are modeled or imitated and then added to the child 's behavioral repertoire. These strategies are assumed to interfere with the subsequent learning of more cooperative, prosocial conflict resolution strategies” (199). For example, in an assumption that “…physically punitive parents end up with aggressive children, it is because the child has learned some pattern of response. It maybe suggested, alternatively, that the child had a predisposition toward aggressive behavior, and that the punitive parental behavior is a response to the child” (Muller 1324). Underlying the spanking, parents are sending the wrong message to their kid to hit another person, like a sibling. Are parents really teaching their kids a lesson from violence or are they encouraging them? Spanking sets a bad example to prevent behaviors that will conclude in …show more content…
These behaviors are: cheating and lying, bullying or being cruel to others, not feeling sorry after misbehaving, breaking things deliberately, being disobedient in school, and having trouble getting along with teachers (Straus 85). In this specific correlational studies. Measurement factors being considered were the socioeconomic standing of the families, the children’s sex and age, and the parental behaviors. Although there are significant changes in figures due to these primary factors taken into consideration, like the child’s age, the common denominator for all results gathered is that there is a consistency within the different age groups of children and the correlation of the antisocial behaviors are shown. The bottom line is, spanking causes harm to a child’s development regardless of age (87). The change in the behavior shows that a child that is exposed to spanking more, shows an increase in antisocial behaviors. A child that is not exposed to spanking, shows a decrease or no change in the behaviors (88). Antisocial behaviors seen were not only seen to affect that one child, but it affects the neighboring kids around them. This potentially could pose a domino effect with other children. Learned behavior from another kid is enough introduction in the environment of another child to acquire undesirable
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.
People say spanking can be harmful to a child’s health. They have placed laws in Washington State in regards to spanking and other corporal punishments. But why, why all the fuss, spanking couldn’t be that bad could it? There must be studies to prove that spanking can cause bad child behavior otherwise why would there be laws on this madder? What are the opinions of the experts, and their methods of disciplining children?
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
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).
In the first study that examined the effects of spanking on child aggression, researchers wanted to look at whether or not there was an association between the use of corporal punishment on children at age 3 and the aggression of the child that could potentially follow when the child reached the age of 5. They also wanted to look at any other potential risk factors that could contribute to the mother’s use of corporal punishment on the child.
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).
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.
Violence within families often reflects behaviours learned by children from their parents. A theory is that violent behaviour is passed down from generation to generation through families (Cole & Flanagin, Pg. 2). The majority of Americans are subjected to corporal punishment at one point or another during their lifetime(Kandel, Pg. 4). Surveys suggested that almost all American parents used physical punishment at one point or another and the punishment was regared as an appropriate child rearing technique. Another survey also suggested that some psychologists belive physical punishment to be an effective and useful socialization tool(Kandel, Pg. 2). Aggression is commonly conceived as existing on a continuum, ranging from very severe parental aggression to much milder and normal parental aggression, such as use of corporal or physical punishment(Kandel, Pg. 1). A common concern is that parental use of physical punishment will lead to aggressive behaviour in children.
...E. (2000). Child Outcomes of Nonabusive and Customary Physical Punishment by Parents: An Updated Literature Review. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review. doi:10.1023/A:1026473020315.
Despite most people refusing to address the problem, spanking is hitting and hitting is violence. The link between spanking and abuse differs by the degree of the act itself, including duration of the punishment, amount of force used on the child, and types of objects used during the punishment. When corporal punishment is done in anger, it often causes the reason for the punishment to be unjustified. In a recent study of parents and the effects of spanking on their children, 69% said that there was a need for physical punishment but only 41% believed that it was effective in achieving a desired outcome. Spanking alone does not teach children why their behavior is wrong, instead it teaches them to behave when the threat of a physical punishment is present (Maguire‐Jack
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 first thing to look at is the immediate effect physical force has on the child. Seasoned child care provider, author, and host of the international hit television series Supernanny, Jo Frost points out in her latest book that “inflicting pain on a child shuts down the good-judgement part of the brain which then reverts to basic primitive processing, fight-or-flight.” Instead of the child processing what they did that was wrong and learning from the experience, the child’s instincts are instead frantically attempting to protect itself from pain. As many parents who implement corporal punishment will attest, the effect is an immediate halt of the unwanted behaviour. As Frost pointed out, the child, while compliant, is not having a positive learning experience. Without trust and learning, it is likely the child will try harder not to get caught which in turn, creates distance in the parent/ child relationship. While there are plenty of people quick to explain just how “fine” they turned out, there are plenty more who can testify how a swat on the bottom can intensify to a sore rear end, escalate to welts on the back, and in some cases become bruises and bloodied noses. Duke University professors Jennifer Lansford and Kenneth Dodge concluded from
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
First of all parents feel that the children are theirs, and they can spank them when they misbehave. There are many factors that lead to physical punishment: parents were to young and not ready for children, parents are going trough a divorce and need to take out their anger on something or someone, or parents do not know another way to punish their children. These children grow up to be aggressive and often abusive towards others. Although parents think this is the only way of educating their children there are many other alternatives.