The Debate on Whether Smacking Children Should be Illegal
Smacking or corporal punishment, as it commonly referred to, is both a
contemporary and an emotive issue. The definition of corporal
punishment according to Clark (2004) is ‘the infliction of physical
pain on some offender for his offence’ (p.363). This definition
encapsulates smacking. Under current law, parents can smack their
children providing no marks are left and only ‘reasonable chastisement
is used’ (N.S.P.C.C). While the wording is contemporary, the issue is
not. Chief Justice Cockburn stated in 1860, ‘ by the law of England, a
parent… may for the purpose of correcting what is evil in the child,
inflict moderate and reasonable corporal chastisement’ (Roberts, 2000,
p. 259). The language of the current law may be different but the
underlying message remains the same. Nevertheless, varying debates
have emerged recently over whether Britain should impose an outright
ban on smacking. This paper endeavours to outline some of these
debates and provides a considered opinion on whether smacking is abuse
or discipline.
In November 2004, Members of Parliament voted on a proposal to change
the Children’s Bill to include an outright ban on smacking. It was
defeated by 424 votes to 75 (N.S.P.C.C). Nonetheless, a compromise
amendment was successful. Parents can use ‘reasonable chastisement’
but smacks, which leave marks, or cause mental harm, were outlawed and
parents could face up to 5 years imprisonment if found guilty of this
offence (Bright, 2003). Consequently, many debates have arisen
relating to certain ambiguities contained within the current law.
There remains conf...
... middle of paper ...
...l punishment of children”.
Cambridge Journal of Education, Vol. 34, No. 3, November 200, p, 363-
372.
BBC News (2005) “Do Parents have a right to smack children?”
http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/print/news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/taling-point/397
Accessed: 07/03/2005.
Bright, A (2003) “Smacking children: Think before you smack”.
http://familiesonline.co.uk/article/articleprint/255/-1/36/. Accessed:
09/03/2005
Babyworld (2005) “Discipline dilemmas- pressure grows over smacking
law”.
http://www2.babyworld.co.uk/information/baby/behaviour/smacking.asp.Accessed:
09/03/2005.
The Christian Institute, Scotland. News Release.
http://www.christain.org.uk/cgi-bin/searchsite.pl?
s=smacking+children. Accessed: 09/03/2005.
N.S.P.C.C http://www.nspcc.org.uk/html/home/home.htm. Accessed:
20/04/2005.
The doings generally take place by the parent. Hitting a child or anyone with an object is always considered physical abuse. Adrian Peterson does not reflect himself as a child abuser but, hitting a toddler with an object tells others otherwise. “The football star said he disciplined his son the way he was disciplined by his own parents, and credited his success to the style of upbringing.” (Alter, 2014). As an individual, people tend to think this method worked and helped for them, but that does not mean it will work also for their child. A 4-year-old child know right from wrong. When it comes to chastisement, they should not be beaten to where marks, scratches and bruises are visible. SHARPLES TIFFANY
Swat! The entire store tries not to stare at the overwhelmed mother spanking her three-year-old whaling son. As if the screaming tantrum wasn't enough of a side show at the supermarket. This method, or technique perhaps, has been around for decades, even centuries. Generations have sat on grandpa’s lap and listened to the stories of picking their own switch or getting the belt after pulling off a devilish trick. So why then has it become a major controversy in the past few decades? The newest claim is that spanking and other forms of physical punishment can lead to increased aggression, antisocial behavior, physical injury and mental health problems for children. Brendan L. Smith uses many case studies and psychologists findings in his article “The Case Against Spanking” to suggest that parents refrain from physically punishing their children due to lasting harmful effects.
The idea of physical punishment has been visible throughout our nation’s history. The 30’s, 40’, 50’s all encouraged the use of strong physical discipline towards children, it wasn’t until the 60’s and 70’s that this idea became taboo. “Many of us in the room had been smacked, whipped, or beaten as children...
In this article, the author expresses the effects that spanking your child as a form of punishment at the age earlier ages of toddlerhood such as to the effects it has on the child when he or she becomes older. Spanking is a very common form of punishment at this age and used frequently across the United States as well as other countries. Many parents do not understand the effects that spanking has on their children now and what effect it has on their future and that there are other forms of punishment that can leave the same impact but cause less emotional and physical damage.
Because the beliefs, education and cultures of people vary so much, along with the age of the child, methods of child discipline vary widely. The topic of child discipline involves a wide range of fields such as parenting, behavioural analysis, developmental psychology, social work and various religious perspectives. Advances in the understanding of parenting have provided a background of theoretical understanding and practical understanding of the effectiveness of parenting methods.
Finally, we need to know more about the personal resources of parents that can lessen the incidence of spanking. It is found that spanking sharply decreases as the parent ages. Despite ideological motivations, parents can and should be trained to understand alternative strategies of discipline (Day 93).
There are many kids that get hurt when playing sports. When kids get hurt playing the sport the often have to wear a cast or could be forced to quit. Many could end up in wheelchairs. Some coaches think that they can treat kids on there team like they are in the army. Kids should not play competitive sports because there are too many injuries that could happen and most coaches think to treat them as if they are in the army.
Spanking is defined as an act of slapping, especially on the buttocks as a form of corporal punishment for children. It acts as a method of redirecting a child’s behavior. Spanking should not be outlawed because reasoning and taking away privileges may often be ineffective approaches to modify a child’s behavior, especially at a younger age. Parents have the responsibility to keep their children away from grave physical danger, and verbal lectures without consequences are often ignored or forgotten. Because there are various alternatives to corporal punishment, spanking must solely be applied as the last resort of disciplining a misbehaved child.
The anti-bullying laws and programs have been made to help stop bullying. Unfortunately bullying is getting harder to prove because there is no longer a stereotypical “bully” anymore. The “bully” is no longer, only the tough-looking mean kids. Peg Tyre explains, in her article “Bullying is on the Rise”, that the kids with really good grades and all the popular kids who want better social status, have become part of the stereotypical bully. Anyone can be a bully, from the tough mean kid, to the high achieving kids and everyone inbetween. Bullying also needs proof, Elizabeth Englander explains “Laws against murder are invoked when there’s a dead body—an obvious sign that a crime has been committed. No such clear-cut indicator exists in the case
The physical abuse of children covers a wide range of actions from what some might term ‘justifiable chastisement’ such as slapping or spanning to the sort of actions which most would agree constitute deliberate, sadistic cruelty against children.
says, “Thorns and snares are in the way of the forward: he that doth keep his soul shall be far from it. Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”
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.
Many people have different views on this topic; some are "for" it, some are "against" it. The United Nations (UN) as a violation of basic human rights have condemned the national U.K. law. It says that some forms of corporal punishment are acceptable. However some parents have different perspectives on hitting their children.
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