... are more likely to do better in school than does children that were never spank. Regardless of some positive outcomes that spanking can bring to a child, children should be moderately disciplined.
While many parents are still spanking their children when they are being naughty, they do not stop to consider how effective this method is. Is this method really working? A question Dr. Phil McGraw asks is: what does a child learn by being hit?(Three Questions to Ask Before Spanking, online) The answer to this question is different for every child, but in many instances you are telling your child that violence is acceptable and that it is an okay way to react when you’re mad .(Three Questions to Ask Before Spanking, online) Although commonly used throughout households with children, not much can be said for spanking’s long term success. To begin with, the only way to maintain the original effect of spanking, is to increase the force with which it is delivered. This can quickly escalate into abuse. (Guidance for Effective Discipline, online) Using spanking as a method can turn into a quick fix whenever the child misbehaves, rather than using other rational techniques for each scenario. Finally, positive reinforcement and other discipline techniques are more difficult to implement when spanking has been used as a primary method of discipline. (Guidance for Effective Discipline, online) As might be expected, the lack of effectiveness also leads to negative consequences and more problems.
One study conducted by Murray A. Straus, David B. Sugarman, and Jean Giles-Sims seems to suggest that child spanking has a negative effect on the child’s behavior as he or she matures. In their 1997 study “Spanking by Parents and Subsequent Antisocial Behavior of Children,” they sampled 807 mothers of children aged six to nine years old to determine if a causal relationship existed between corporal punishment as a child and antisocial behavior later in life. The results were very clear:
Honestly, spanking is the quickest and fastest way to challenge a misbehaved child’s behavior. It may even allow guardian to stop that specific problem in a child’s behavior before it gets out of hand. According to psychologist Dr. James Dobson “… when the child fully understand what he is being asked to do or not to do but refuses to yield to adult leadership an appropriate spanking is the shortest and most affective route to an adjustment….”. Spanking is most affective when a child fully comprehends why their poor behavioral decisions are inadequate compared to what is expected of them. Although, spanking may be a quick solution it is only a temporary solution. Spanking may stop a child from misbehaving on a certain occasion, but a child will return to its misbehaving manners because they were focusing in on their hurtful punishment rather than learning from their poor decision. Author of many child discipline books, Carl Pickhardt, states “…. spanking is a temporary solution that does more harm than good. It "works" because it's external control over a child, but it doesn't promote i...
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
Spanking, a fictitious form of child abuse, is an appropriate action toward unruly children. It is a popular practice used to instill discipline and values in children, and is more effective than talking to or yelling at the child or placing the child in “time out” sessions. In the long run, spanking causes no damage to the child’s mental or physical health. Instead, it creates a basis for good behavior.
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).
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
...their child while obviously angered, that emotion is likely to be very noticeable to the child. Unfortunately, that anger is all too likely to become attached to the punishment, resulting in the unwanted link of: mad parent = pain. A serene, calm parent is very much less likely to turn out to be an active part of the negative memory. Obviously, this is completely up to the judgment of the parent, but I have a tendency to concur that not only is spanking less likely to be abused if lightly applied, but also it maintains a better influence when it is applied. I would declare only when there clearly doesn't seem to be any other way of getting through to the child. Spanking is unquestionably not the only effective punishment, and perhaps not even the best, nevertheless I consider it to be effective, when applied carefully, in relation with other teaching mechanisms.
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.