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Emotional effects of spanking on children
The effect that corporal punishment has on children
The effect that corporal punishment has on children
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Recommended: Emotional effects of spanking on children
Topic: Should spanking be illegal?
Introduction:
Discipline since time immemorial has been left mostly in the hands of the parents. Corporal punishment in the ancient times was in the form of slapping and spanking which was meant to punish the indiscipline kids. In the modern society, this issue has created a lot of debate on whether the appropriateness of spanking as a form of punishment to impact discipline on the kids should be embraced or banned for life. In the 21st century, the different researchers and scholars have pointed out on the negative impacts of corporal punishment among the kids. They have reported that this form of punishment brings about more aggressive behavior, depression, anxiety, anti-social behavior and disobedience among the kids. This paper will present on both sides of the argument on whether spanking should be made legal or illegal.
Why spanking should be illegal
Scholars in the academic field have pointed out that spanking does not solve the problems
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Such parents believe that according to the biblical concept the issue of disciplining the child is obligated to the parents themselves. The Bible itself demands that the guardian becomes accountable and diligent in applying the concept of disciplining the child. The concept calls for reasonable, controlled as well as a balancing act of physical punishment on the child. In the extreme instances, cases of disobedience are met with physical corrections that have set limit. This will go a long way in ensuring that the children conform to right morals that are acceptable in the society. The ban on spanking children will, therefore, have negative impacts on the society due to the many cases of indiscipline children that will be brought
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?
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).
When describing a physical altercation between two adults, the term is assault and battery. Assault on an individual has more than immediate effects; the effects can last a lifetime in severe cases. In all fifty states, it is a crime to hit, strike or use corporal punishment in any deliberate manner towards any person over the age of eighteen. However, this law does not apply to physical force being used on minors. Spanking, whipping, and paddling are among a few common references to this form of punishment. Physically disciplining children has had many names over the years. No matter which term is used, corporal punishment has a negative impact on every party involved. It is a widely used, socially accepted method of discipline. “Approximately 94% of three and four-year old children have been spanked in the past year (Slade & Winssow 1321). Although spanking is a widespread practice, it is becoming more controversial. The negative effects of spanking greatly outweigh the benefits. Spanking is a socially tolerated view promoting abusive patterns, and has a negative psychological impact in teaching children that pain, fear, and confusion promote conformability.
Childhood discipline determines how the child will act at home and in social settings and instills habits and different values that will stick with a child for its whole life. There are many different methods of discipline, however some are more beneficial than others. A generally calm and consistent attitude is best when trying to discipline a child because increased frustrations do not teach the child anything except that aggression is the answer. Corporal punishment is another non-beneficial method of parenting although it is still used today. When looking at discipline from a teacher's perspective, it seems extremely difficult to be able to maintain several children at one time. This is true, however, there is a special teaching program that simplifies the process of disciplining children.
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.
Did you know that over half of the population spanks their children? The idea of using spanking as a punishment has raised controversy among parents. Spanking is the use of an open hand to strike someone and many parents want it to become illegal. While spanking has some down sides, it should remain legal because making it illegal would be difficult to enforce, and there are already laws against child abuse.
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...
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
Proponents of spanking bans have a tendency to label spanking as corporal punishment. They then categorize it along with many abusive activities. Psychologist Kerby Alvy explains corporal punishment as, “pinching, pulling ears and hair, shaking, slapping, smacking, spanking, swatting, hitting, kicking, punching, paddling, using switches, hair brushes, belts and ironing cords, and having children kneel on gravel or ...
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.
Many critics believe that spanking is just a form of abuse and does not teach a child right from wrong. According to Jeanne Lindsay, “Spankings generally lead to more and harder spankings to make the child respond” (89). Critics think that spanking leads to more violet children and, in the end, more violet adults. They also believe that if a parent truly loves their child, they would never hit them. Critics believe that time-outs are a more effective form of punishment. They think time-outs teach children right from wrong better than spankings. Some critics also believe that spanking should be illegal in the United Stated. However, this is not accurate. Spanking when done out of love is not abuse at all. According to Jeannette Moninger, “A parent who spanks as a form of discipline is quite different from one who strikes with the goal of injuring a child.”(The great Spanking debate)) A parent does not spank their child because they get pleasure out of it; they do it so they can teach their child wrong from right and to ensure that they will not do it again. J. Addleman states that in 1979 Sweden was the first country to out-law spanking. Seven other countries decided to follow Sweden and outlaw spanking as well. However, several studies have shown that since spanking has been out-lawed in Sweden the child abuse rate has actually increased. One can see from this article that child abuse has nothing to do with spanking. With that being said, spanking does not mean to physically injure a child; it simply means just a slap on the butt. In Drjamesdobson.org, children learn lessons through pain.
Spanking has several effects on the children which build many opinions among the people. Researchers have shown many positive and negative sides of physical punishment. There are several people that agree with spanking their children and there are others who are against punishing the children. Many of the parents who spank their children believe that spanking is sometimes okay because they think it will make a positive effect on their behavior. Spanking is used to correct children’s behavior, but, many people think that instead of bettering the child’s behavior it makes it worse. Spanking has been a huge issue in the past decades. Many children have been physically abused and many others have never experienced any physical harm. However, several people have been fighting so that spanking becomes against the law and so that the children have more rights and security. On the other hand, there are other parents that want spanking to be legal because they believe spanking has helped them correcting the child's behavior.
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
Secondly, corporal punishment in schools should not be permitted is because it can lead to harmful effects in a student’s health. Because according to Science Daily “a child in a school that uses corporal punishment has performed worst in tasks involving executive functioning-- such as, for example: planning, abstract thinking, and delaying gratification.” In addition, according to Social Development, “harshly punitive environm...
Even though most people are split on the issue, the fact still stands that spanking and child abuse tends to go hand-in-hand with violence in the future. When you hear of someone disciplining a child, you typically assume the child got a spanking. It’s actually really sad that we, as humans, assume that. Think about it though - if it actually came down to it that there were real laws set in place against spanking, what would come next? There are no true ways to put a halt to spanking as a form of punishment considering it would be too difficult to actually enforce such laws. In conclusion, spanking may or may not have a direct correlation to violent futures, but it can definitely be a huge factor to it.