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Emotional effects of spanking on children
Emotional effects of spanking on children
Spanking and its effect on young children
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I believe that physically disciplining children is not an effective form of punishment. I was spanked when I was little and it only instilled fear and loathing in my developing mind. According to AAP, “spanking models aggressive behavior as a solution to conflict and has been associated with increased aggression in preschool and school children”. Although most parents believe that spanking is an appropriate form of discipline, it has been thoroughly proven that there are much more effective and less destructive ways to punish children.
The dictionary defines child abuse as the mistreatment of a child by a parent or guardian, including neglect and beating. The concept of physical discipline has been so normalized, that the already thin line between discipline and abuse is now blurred. When a child makes a mistake and the result is receiving spankings, they are taught that mistakes equals violence.
It has been proven that children who are physically disciplined are more likely to develop psychological and emotional issues as they mature. Statistics show that three year-olds who were spanked more than twice a month were 50% more likely to exhibit hostile tendencies by age five. Dr. Kazden from the
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Most parents believe that spanking their children is the most effective way to punish them because it was the standard method of discipline when they were young. However, Michael J. Mackenzie of Columbia School of Social Work states that “[spanking] gives the immediate feedback that it’s working. But the goal is to have kids regulate themselves over time. And in that, spanking fails”. I believe parents hit their children in the heat of the moment, and there are far more constructive methods of teaching children the difference between right and wrong, such as rewarding them for good behavior and making sure they know when they’ve made a
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
Spanking could also teach children that it's all right to hit, and that it's all right to be hit and that could have a negative long term effect on the children. I
According to a leading researcher in the field of pediatrics, mothers who spank their 3-year-old children may be increasing their child’s risk of aggressive behavior over the next few years. Spanking is the most detrimental form of punishment for 3-year-old children, considering the effects produced in the spanked children either currently, or in the future. Spanking has been a common form of discipline for many years. As research on the negative effects of spanking continue to surface, spanking becomes less common. Some of these negative effects are: the child does not understand the reasons to behave appropriately, but instead avoids the behavior in fear of spanking, spanking in 3-year-olds can lead to far more aggression at age 5, and it's a form of discipline that becomes less effective with repeated use.
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).
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).
Physical abuse is any non-accidental physical injury to a child. Physical abuse is an injury that results from physical aggression. Types of physical abuse can consist of beating, whipping, hitting, pinching, biting, or spanking.
First, spanking is not an efficient discipline method to be used on kids, unlike many parent’s belief. The negative effects of spanking on kids are unknown by the parent. According to the psychologist Laura Markham, “... spanking will not correct the problems that the child has, but only make them worse by increasing the child’s aggression and by making him less emotionally healthy.” In addition, spanking does not teach kids to manage themselves. Instead, it teaches them to be sneaky so they won't get caught doing something wrong.
Can spanking your child be considered as abuse? Although some may see physical punishment as a quick and effective way to stop their kids from causing trouble, others consider it as a serious offense and inhumane. It is important to understand both sides of “good” and “bad” before claiming a side on whether spanking should be acceptable. Using violence to stop a bad situation may only cause more issues. It is often stated that violence can only cause more violence.
Generally speaking there Is a difference between spanking aka discipline and child abuse. If a child is told after every mistake what was wrong and why they're being punished it does not damage their mental health. The child will no longer look at their parents with the eyes of distrust. Comparatively spanking is not a positive action so it will not held positive results unless it is accompanied by an explanation as to why one was punished. In fact ,I have four siblings, the eldest boy was spanked for his actions. He ended up being engaged in dishonest activities, and has anger issues. Whereas the youngest boy was barley spanked and he never was involved in any crimes and similarly has a very calm demeanor. Also spanking is just one action
In my point of view, I believe that children shouldn’t be spanked at any circumstance, even though; they deserve to be punished in that form. I agree with a text I found in Moral Development in Chapter 10, saying in a pictures caption, “it is better for parents to explain what the misbehavior was”. Many reasons are in favor as to why explaining your children their bad behavior rather than hitting them, such as one can injure the kid physically, your boy or girl will always remember your aggression towards him/her leaving them a hard feeling, hurting other kids the same way, and reflecting violence plus be a bad person in the future. Spanking leads to a major effect on children as they age including at that moment by hurting them. For instance,
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.
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 into a respectable adult, and they can pass on the behavior to their future children.
When I was growing up, my parents believed in punishing a child who had severely disobeyed with spanking. Learning quickly at a young age that I did not like this, I was only spanked two or three times after which I built up the determination never to do anything deserving of spanking again. It scared me half to death and I despised it as a child. I have seen my older sisters, as they are currently raising their children, use spanking as a mode of punishment – sometimes it works, other times it seem to have little affect. I decided to ask my roommates and friends how their parents had disciplined them and what they thought they would do with their future children.
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.