The laws regarding child abuse should be reformed by specifically defining what constitutes as “discipline” and what constitutes as “abuse”, by mandating that each child enrolled in a public school speak to a counselor about family matters at least once, and by requiring that seminars concerning child abuse are shown to children in public school. Because the word “discipline” can be interpreted in many different ways, many parents tend to discipline their children differently. The proper way to disciple children has always been a common debate with most parents. Discipline is often defined as a technique used to punish bad behavior. More specifically, discipline is a term that can be used to describe how a parent punishes their child. …show more content…
Abuse can be defined as an act of cruelty or violence to another human being. If discipline is defined as punishment and abuse is defined as a cruel act, there should be no confusion between the two terms. However, this is not the case. Often times, what some parents may consider discipline is actually abuse and vice versa. At what point does physically disciplining a child become physically abusing a child? It’s easy to tell the difference between a civil disciplinary action and an abusive beating, but sometimes there is a gray area. Sometimes a physical act, such as spanking, can very easily become an abusive act without a parent realizing. While children should be disciplined in order to learn from their mistakes, children should never be abused. The problem with physical discipline is that most parents spank their children when they are angry because of something the child did wrong. An act of negative, physical contact should never be administered when a person is angry. When parents act out of anger, they will be less likely to control just how hard they are spanking their children, which can cause serious injuries to the child. In this case, discipline can easily become abuse. When parents physically …show more content…
Children are much more likely to report abusive behavior to their parents or close relatives. However, in some cases, this is not possible as the abuser is often a family member. In situations like this, an abused child would have no one to discuss and report the abuse to. Therefore, it should be a requirement that all children enrolled in a public elementary school should meet with a school counselor at least once a year to discuss family issues. Doing so could stop or even prevent a child from being abused by someone close to them. Children would be provided with a safe environment to discuss their home life and family structures. School counselors could then determine if a child is either being abused or neglected or at a potential risk for being abused or
There is a point raised by the author on the article “Spanking children isn’t abusing them” that children in residential schools had horrible and often fatal beatings (2015). Furthermore, while reading “Corporal punishment by parents and associated child behaviors and experiences: A meta-analytic and theoretical review” Gershoff asserts, “Behaviors that do not result in significant physical injury (e.g., spank, slap) are considered corporal punishment, whereas behav- iors that risk injury (e.g., punching, kicking, burning) are consid- ered physical abuse. ” (2002) As it was stated on the previous point, reasonable force has its limits, and limits the parent and care givers to discipline the child without degrading them or causing physical or psychological harm.
Consisting of using physical discipline as a method of protection and discipline. Many parents with children of color often go to great lengths to make sure that their child is well disciplined. Discipline, is the practice of training one to obey rules or a code of behavior, using punishment to correct disobedience. The method of discipline many in colored societies opt for is physical discipline. However, there are some who argue against it and opt for non-physical discipline.
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.
Raising a child is a challenging life task that is given over to individuals all over the world without an instruction manual. People must learn by experience how to nurture, care for, and provide for miniature versions of themselves for almost two decades in most cultures! Discipline plays a major role in raising a child because most parents truly want what is best for their children and want them to grow up to be responsible, respectable, and successful adults; however, in some unfortunate cases, parents misinterpret the term discipline and in turn end up abusing their children. The question becomes, is there truly a difference between discipline and abuse? And if so, what is it? With education, individuals can learn how to properly distinguish between discipline and abuse and realize that there is a clear black and white difference between the two. The origin of the word discipline stems from the Latin word disciplina, which means “instruction [or] knowledge” (“Definition of discipline”, n.d.). As stated in the Oxford Dictionary, the definition of the word discipline is “the practice of training people to obey rules or a code of behavior, [or] using punishment to correct disobedience” (“Definition of discipline”, n.d.). According to WebMD, a website that is visited and seen by millions of people in the United States every day, discipline is “the process of teaching your child what type of behavior is acceptable and what type is not acceptable. In other words, discipline teaches a child to follow rules” (“Child Discipline Methods”, n.d.). It even goes on to state that “it sounds so straightforward, yet every parent becomes frustrated at one time or another with issues surrounding children and discipline” (“Child Discipline Metho...
Child abuse is an issue in every state, every country, worldwide. There is no place that is immune to child abuse. This being stated they need better policies in place regarding the education on child abuse. Many people have many different opinions on how to lessen the amount of child abuse that goes on in this country, however many of them focus on stricter punishment for the abuser’s (Hmurovich, 2009). However, they know that stricter punishment will not lessen the amount of child abuse; it would truly have little to no impact on...
The word discipline is defined as imparting knowledge and skill, to teach. Discipline is used by parents to teach their children the correct way to behave. They need to be given constant discipline to be taught right and wrong and it can involve rewards and punishments to teach self control and increase desirable behaviors and decrease undesirable behaviour. Though the purpose of child discipline is to develop desirable behaviour and social habits, the ultimate goal is to create sound judgement and morals so that the child develops and maintains self disciple throughout the rest of their lives.
Physical abuse is the intentional infliction of physical injury to a child. Legal definition of child abuse can very from state to state, but it is widely accepted that any intentional injury to a child that results in a need to seek out medical attention are considered to be physical abuse. Forms of physical abuse can range from small cuts and bruises to more severe cases of broken ones and internal injuries. Nonetheless, there have been complications in defining the line between punishment and physical abuse. Many states explicitly note that “spanking when administered in an reasonable manner” does not constitute abuse. Thus, physical punishment remains subject to interpretation in the context of it's
... 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).
Discipline is the practice of training people to obey rules or a code of behavior, using punishment to correct disobedience. Discipline makes us behave the way we do. Tang Soo Do teaches us the correct discipline by giving us the opportunity to choose the right decision and the correct method. Tang Soo Do also ...
This is not always an easy task due to the amount of people it takes to do their part. Clearly no child should be abused. We have to understand the causes, problems, and terms of child abuse. Most victims’ hide they are abused because they don’t think they will have the support to overcome this obstacle. However, there are plenty of support programs. The family can help by paying attention to their children, not only their body but words and emotions as well. As parents, we should take care of our children and accept what God has given to the child. Parents need to provide food, shelter, and show schedule or hanging out with one another to relieve stress. Our country has different agencies that can help. We have foster care, orphenage, UNICEF, etc. “K. Lee makes it very clear and understanding of how we can utilize programs to help children that are abused”. To overcome child abuse the child can go through counseling services, and can talk with other individuals who have gone through the same situation. “K. Lee states that “child abuse was not part of the law. In the 1800s kids were abandoned. They made a law in 1874 to help children get away from abusive situations. In 1944 the government made a set standard law where they could intervene within the family to get abused children away from the parents. The author declares that children should be protected from abusive relationships of any
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).
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.
It may not always happen, but it’s pretty effective. Discipline of a child is the responsibility of the parent. There are many ways to discipline a child. A child can be spanked, yelled at, ridiculed, punished, and grounded. They could also be verbally abused as a way to be disciplined.
According to the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 1974, child abuse can be defined as, “The physical or mental injury, or sexual abuse, negligent treatment or maltreatment of a child under the age of 18 by a person who is responsible for the child’s welfare. Child abuse can be divided into four classifications; physical, sexual, emotional and neglect. I choose to focus on emotional abuse, the various manners that suggest a child is experiencing it, also as a consequence approaches to support students.
Secondly, physical abuse is purposely causing physical harm or injuries to a child. Being physically abused includes being hit, kicked, or shaken. Parents who are abusive to their children often claim that their abuse is a form of discipline. There is a significant difference in abusing your child and trying to show them discipline. The whole point of using discipline is to show a child right from wrong. It becomes physical abuse instead of discipline when your...