Think of the Children Cultures throughout the world view corporal punishment with varying degrees of approval. In thirty-three countries, most notably those in Scandinavia, physical discipline of children is illegal, which gives children the same rights to safety as spouses. In other countries, including the US, bodily punishment is legal and common. Despite the widespread use of corporal punishment, parents should not physically discipline their children. Due to the negative effects of corporal punishment on children’s futures, parents should not physically discipline their children. Corporally disciplined children tend to be more aggressive because they learn by example that violence is an acceptable way to interact with others. Physically punished children have lower rates of high school graduation and college attendance. These lowered rates, combined with increased aggression, may lead to greater incidence of misconduct, crime, and arrest as they grow older, which affect all aspects of the now-grown child’s life. Parents should not corporally punish their children because it creates negative social …show more content…
One such variable may be child misbehavior. A person who is naturally more inclined to misbehave will be more likely to receive punishment as a child. Bodily punishment did not cause the child’s misbehavior; the child’s misbehavior caused the punishment (Stassen Berger). However, this theory cannot be ethically tested: if the corporal discipline is indeed harmful to child development, then scientists cannot potentially cause such harm to children in a study. Therefore, until other evidence comes to light, the correlation between physical punishment and depression, aggression, and crime should be considered causational in order to prevent further harm to
Smith states in his introduction “many studies have shown physical punishment — including spanking, hitting and other means of causing pain — can lead to increased aggression, antisocial behavior, physical injury and mental health problems for children.” Throughout the article, many studies show that children do become more aggressive however, there were also studies mentioned that support the use of physical punishment on children between the ages of two and six years old. This does show that his research is thorough however, it still leads to room for error in his broad statement of physical punishment causing harmful effects to
For example, in 1999 a study in corporal punishment prevalence done by Straus and Stewart found that corporal punishment is more common in the southern US. On the same way, in 2014 Kemme et al. study about the parental corporal punishment experience in childhood and adolescence found that individuals who experience any type of physical punishment by their parents tend to be more punitive that those who come from a household where corporal punishment was not implemented. However, based on class content, physical punishment involving an object is considered as child physical abused, therefore, it should be processed. There are many other ways in which a child can be punished by a misbehavior without having to take the risk of weakening parent-child bond or physically abusing the child. Also, other ways that will not condition the individual to believe that violence is justified, that gives justification to more serious abuse, or to contribute to see punishment as an appropriate means to shape
... violence of corporal punishment. In addition, corporal punishment can and often does become abuse when parents are especially angry or stressed (Barnett, Miller-Perrin, Perrin 292).
There is an indirect correlation between children who are physically punished and those who have antisocial behavior. Studies have shown that children who are punished in a physical way, often exhibit difficulties obeying rules and norms as they grow up. According to "The Effect Of Corporal Punishment On Antisocial Behavior In Children” by Andrew Grogan Kaylor, “Children 's age had an effect on levels of antisocial behavior, in that older children exhibited higher levels of antisocial behavior.” Antisocial behavior is demonstrate more as the child grows older. Parents often use corporal punishment as a way to discipline a child when they exhibit antisocial behavior. However, studies have shown that corporal punishment increases this behavior instead of decreasing (Eamon 2001; Eamon & Zuehl, 2001; Straus & Donnelly, 2001; Straus et al., 1997). When comparing data from children who were greatly exposed to corporal punishment and those whose parents occasionally used this way of punishing their child, data showed that there was a very small differences between both groups. This study demonstrated that even if parents do not use physical punishment often, it can still cause their child to have antisocial behavior. According to "A Cross-Cultural Examination Of The Link Between Corporal Punishment And Adolescent Antisocial Behavior” by Ronald L. Simons, Chyi-In Wu, Kuei-Hsiu Lin,
The researchers find that frequent use of corporal punishment on three-year-olds (spanking more than twice over the course of a month) was associated with increased aggressive behavior at five years of age…even "minor" forms of corporal punishment, including spanking, increase children's risk of aggressive behavior
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
To quantify the emotional health of children who are spanked, one can assess their academic success. Abusive environments, which some consider inclusive of moderate corporal punishment, are not conducive to a child’s learning environment; however, whether or not children are spanked has no effect on their education (Levitt and Dubner 108). I was spanked frequently throughout my childhood and have always excelled academically. Even currently, my class rank is 13, so parents need not worry about corporal punishment affecting their child’s short-term or long-term
There has been a misconception about how to properly discipline children due to secular views and flawed studies. Many of these so called “studies” have made “many experts believe that corporal punishment will likely lead to increased resistance or aggressive behavior from the child” ("Corporal Punishment." World Book Advanced). One study in particular “suggests that children who experienced harsh spanking (with objects or at a frequency of once a week or more with a hand) had significantly higher levels of mother-reported externalizing behavior at ages 6, 7, and 8 than did children who experienced no spanking or mild spanking at those ages, even controlling for prior externalizing behavior and other possible confounds.” ( Lansford ). However, aggressive behavior should be expected if a parent beats their child out of their own anger instead of a desire to better their child for the future. There are several other “studies” that claim to prove spanking increases negative behavior but they just lump them all together and say that all spanking in every form, regardless of it severity, is the same and creates worse children. “Any form of punishment, physical or otherwise, can have negative consequences if it is abused.”. (Green) If parents don’t discipline their children physically, they will ve...
This is a huge predictor of why delinquency could happen later on in a child’s life. If you do not supervise your child and don’t discipline them, then they may get themselves in trouble. In the popular Cambridge-Somerville study, it proved that the best predictor for violent and property crime: is the lack of supervision of a child (McCord, 1979). How you punish your child is important when predicting further delinquency in a child’s life. It’s been stated that “40 percent of offenders had been smacked or beaten at age 11 years, compared with 14 percent of non-offenders” (Newson, 1989, p. 208). In addition, there are other studies done that proves that a big predictor of why children become offenders is because of past abuse. The physical punishment that is towards Caucasian children is much different than the physical punishment that is towards African-American children. It is a possibility that the physical punishment may have different meanings in African-American homes. There are many different debates that say that in African-American homes the abuse can symbolize warmth and safety. In addition, in Caucasian homes it can symbolize as criminal and cold (West & Farrington, 1973). Another example, as to why delinquency can rise later on in a child’s life is the lack of involvement of a child’s activities. If you are not giving your child the right support or attention,
This essay will discuss whether it is thought that punishment is effective and whether it is currently thought to work, additionally it will examine the best ways to change a child’s behaviour in terms of positive and negative reinforcements. The issue of child punishment has received considerable critical attention within many cultures. Punishment towards children can be argued to be a very controversial area. It is argued that many people have been brought up with distinctive beliefs about punishments toward a child. A child’s upbringing is argued by many researchers to be key to how they will go on to treat their own children in the future. This can surely be argued to be a negative effect of physical punishment. It is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore the effects of what severe punishment may have on a child. Later convictions of violence and the evidence of damaging effects on well-being, corporal punishment has on children is overwhelming. However, it is not ingrained that corporal punishment is definitely damaging. There is also sufficient evidence to corporal punishment being an effective form of discipline, if used appropriately. It is thought that corporal punishment helps parents retain control over their children’s behaviour. This essay will consider the various forms of punishment, such as physical punishments and whether they are considered to work. This is essay will also consider effective ways of changing a child’s behaviour including the use of classical and operant conditioning and studies that support the theories and how they can be applied to real life. Classical conditioning for example uses learning through association, memory prompts the person to associate an object/ sound to a certain behaviour. ...
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.
Several forms of emotional damage have been associated with physical punishment in children such as confusion, aggressive behaviors, and mental illnesses. These are all signs of abuse or to be more specific a parent that did not fully understand the limitations of the biblical approach. On the other hand, are these factual claims? Not even research can back these claims up. Afifi, T. O., Monta, N. P., Dasiewicz, P., MacMillan, H. L., & Sareen, J. (2012) authors of a journal called Physical Punishment and Mental Disorders: Results From a Nationally Representative US Sample clearly state that research is flawed and no findings can be proven to show a link between physical punishment and mental disorders. Parents may have heard “spare the rod, spoil the child” but there is more behind that saying. The Bible does not say to use excessive force it tells a parent to use their love and words of knowledge to correct a child.
"Summary of Research on the Effects of Corporal Punishment." End Corporal Punishment. EndCorporalPunishment.org, Apr. 2013. Web. 12 May 2014. .
First, corporal punishment in public schools is barbaric because it can cause so much stress in a child who usually experiences this from bullying or child abuse. Brain scans display a structural and biochemical change that affects a child’s social behavior. For example, in an article written by Shen-Li Lee, argues that a “child’s anterior cingulated gyrus (ACG) suffers from cell loss, which affects a child’s ability to moderate and emphasize their fear.” Furthermore, the pathway to their brain is changed in ways that can affect their ability to manage stress, which can lead to the child being impulsive, and aggressive toward other people. In addition states that it “can cause impairment to the brain, which can lead to disorders such as ADHD, depression, impaired attention, etc.”
Corporal punishment is the physical disciplinary method used by parents, teachers, and school administrators in an effort to correct a child’s undesirable behaviors. The use of physical force is one that is often times controversial and usually evokes very strong reactions. These feelings surface, and opposing views clash, when scandals surrounding corporal punishment hit the media and heated arguments in the comments section of articles emerge. While corporal punishment occasionally makes its way into the limelight, it is a decision all parents are faced with eventually and often times daily. For example, when a toddler is sprawled out on the grocery store floor kicking, hitting, and flinging