Physical Discipline

1189 Words3 Pages

Tears are falling, skin is red, and pain and fear are the only things running through your mind. This is just one of the countless images of physical discipline that one may have in mind. Physical discipline often used by parents in the black community, is a form of discipline involving the use of pain with the intention of keeping their children safe from harm. While there are many who see the benefits of physical discipline, there are also many that question its effectiveness. Some argue that the line between physical abuse and discipline is far too often crossed. This controversial issue is the topic of Brittany Cooper’s article to the Salon, The Racial Parenting Divide: What Adrian Peterson Reveals about Black vs. White Child-rearing. Cooper …show more content…

When it comes to child rearing people use tactics that have either been passed down to them from an elder or use tactics that have been used on them by their parents. Reminiscing his childhood, Coates describes the first time his father beats him. Coates recounts not only the fear but also the confusion. Coates states, “Maybe that saved me. Maybe it didn’t” (Coates 16). As a child one cannot fully grasp the extent of a parents’ love. This is something that Coates makes clear as he did not understand his father’s actions until he himself became a father. Coates …show more content…

It is a tool used to keep children out of danger and ensures that they are well behaved. Physical discipline additionally has a strong historical role in disciplining and producing well behaved children of color in society of white supremacy. A majority of the methods of physical discipline used today have been inherited from older generations. While physical discipline may not be the flawless disciplinary method in disciplining children. It is however, the lesser evil when faced with the mantra—I can beat you or the

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