Spank or Not to Spank: Abuse or Not?
Spanking is known to be a form of corporal punishment in the eyes of many, a form of child abuse but too many others is a form of disciplining their children that have acted or behaved badly. Spanking consist of an adult striking a child or at times another adult on the buttocks for acting up in an unacceptable behavior. In this essay, I will be focusing more about children receiving this type of disciple. Is it right or wrong? A psychologist, Dr. Barbara Greenberg said in a CNN article, “Physical punishment instills a feeling of shame, it’s a very embarrassing thing to be spanked, and shame is one of the most intolerable feelings to experience." She says that it brings depression and anxiety to the child. On another hand you have Pope Francis telling the world that it’s ok to spank your child. USA today reports that the Holiness said parents "should be able to rectify their child's inappropriate action by imposing certain
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The U.S. is not one of them. Sweden is one of the first countries that made it illegal to hit a child as a form to discipline them. Other countries in Europe have followed including Africa and the Americas. Schools are also not allowed to spank children anymore. These countries are intervening and teaching parents that there are other ways of disciplining their children. They are investing in supporting parents to stay home with their babies and sick children, offering free education on how to protect their children. If parents are caught spanking their children they will be jailed and fined. Because of this the world is demonstrating that there is no need in spanking children because these countries that have banned spanking are showing improvement in family environment and economically. Because spanking is not banned in the United States, they are declaring that this is one of the factors of why we have many kids that are depressed and
The issue of allowing parents to spank their children is a controversial topic. Spanking a child is not against the law, but parents who use this method of discipline are sometimes accused of child abuse. On one side of the argument are parents who spank their children. On the other side are people who think children should not be spanked. Spanking is widely misinterpreted around the world because some believe spanking is abuse while others believe spanking is a form of discipline. The point of spanking a child is to correct the child’s behavior after they do something bad, not to physically harm the child. Children must learn from their mistakes and being spanked is a good way to learn. Parents should be allowed to spank children because it is an effective way to teach children right from wrong, learn authority and learn proper behavior.
Spanking is a fiercely debated social issue in many countries, such as the US, the United Kingdom, Canada, Israel, and Germany. There are questions over what intensity of pain is suitable until it crosses the threshold into abuse. Up until the mid-20th century it was perfectly okay in most communities for a spanking to cause a child to cry in pain throughout and have difficulty sitting down afterward, even resulting in stripes or bruises for days. Nowadays several think even mere redness of the skin abusive, while others would call it effective discipline. This causes questions as to whether children should be spanked. In addition, whether spanking is an effective method of discipline and at what point does it constitutes child abuse.
A recent study shows 70 percent of parents believe it is right to discipline a child through physical means. Most commonly, parents will spank their children but being hit with things like belts or other objects happens as well. Parenting methods haven’t changed much with time and discipline in similar no matter the country. With more studies out to find the most effective method of parenting and discipline it’s coming to attention whether or not physical harm is the best way to teach children. Parents want what is best for their children, so it is important to constantly bring up and question methods commonly accepted in the past. One method that is becoming more controversial is spanking children. Though it is still considered normal to do, it is gaining more traction and more studies are being done to find the problems it causes. Checking on parenting methods can be difficult as everyone is raised differently. It is also difficult to test which forms of punishment lead to certain outcomes. However, there is a trend of negative effects from hitting. Gershoff acknowledges, “several national professional organizations have called on parents to abandon spanking as a child rearing practice and for professionals to recommend disciplinary alternatives to spanking.” Spanking children is a terrible discipline method as it has negative effects.
Have you ever been spanked as a kid and felt angry towards your parents? Did you feel they just hated you? Spanking is a form of corporal punishment which is a punishment intended to cause pain in many different ways. Corporal punishment started in slavery and led to schools and homes. Although many states have banned corporal punishment it is still allowed in 19 out of 50 states. Many adults will agree children just need a ‘good ol’e spanking’ and others will argue that it is a negative way to parent and causes more problems. Spanking children is not a proper way of parenting because it gives a negative effect on children.
Should spanking and other forms of physical punishment be illegal. Strict parents say yes, leniant parents say no. What can be the affects of such behavior? A child who has gotten itno trouble may be victim of this punishment that has been accepted moreso in third world countries. A mother of four who has been fed up has a youngest child.When a child acts up, it can be seen as okay to spank or discipline. A displanory action. Why not? Why isn't that okay? Usually when a parent spanks the child, the child retreats and does not commit whatever the offense. They, "are cured" or are they now terrified of their caregivers? What if the child has taken negative contitations after recieving a spank? The child may go to school sad, and
Even after years of research, the issue of whether spanking is an adequate discipline strategy or damaging to children remains a controversial topic. According to Kazdin and Benjet (2003) the definition of spanking is “. . . hitting a child with an open hand on the buttocks or extremities with the intent to discipline without leaving a bruise or causing physical harm (p. 100). In addition, according to Maguire-Jack, Gromoske and Berger (2012) only a few studies propose that spanking is an effective form of discipline. On the other hand, there is more evidence to show that spanking is an unsuccessful form of discipline that can led to unwanted consequences (p. 1960). I personally do not take a stance in this topic because I can see valid points from both parties. Although, I believe that the way the punishment is presented to the child is extremely important. For example, I feel that the child should know why he or she is punished and what is expected of them thereafter.
The common misconception that spanking is a form of child abuse affects the proper discipline of today's youth. Some parents are actually afraid to discipline their own children using the same method of belief from their own upbringing. Who is correct in the notion of right and wrong discipline? Is there such a thing as a correct way to spank your child? In my opinion, there is. So, my goal is to show that if the
Why Spanking Children is Wrong Parents have been spanking their children for hundreds of years, but recently this practice has come into question. The concern is not regarding the effectiveness of spanking but the correctness of spanking. Parents should not be allowed to strike their children. Child abuse is defined as any unnecessary or intentional physical or emotional or sexual mistreatment of children. Spanking is not the only method of child discipline. Spanking is not even the most effective method of child discipline. Numerous studies have made it evident that spanking does have a negative effect on children. Spanking children should be considered child abuse because it teaches children the wrong message about hitting, it does not
Believe it or not, a representative from Kansas recently proposed a bill to the state Senate that would make it legal for educators and child caregivers to spank a child up to 10 times in a way that might result in redness or bruising. The bill sponsor says that she wants to have in place clear guidelines for the corporal punishment that is already permitted in the state.
We live in a world where punishment is used in order to teach someone a lesson, or to show them that acting a certain way isn’t right. The mission of parents is to be able to teach their kids to surpass them, and to prepare them for the real world. One way of punishment that a lot of parents practice is spanking their children. According to the website, Brookings.edu, it states that in North America, 81% of parents say that spanking their children is sometimes appropriate. While some parents think that spanking is a good way in order to discipline their children, they shouldn’t because it teaches them that violence is the answer, it can cause emotional damage, and it doesn’t teach them how to communicate with other people.
Corporal Punishment has been around for quite sometime. It all started with using a simple wooden paddle. The paddle was invented by the sailors. They used it as a way of disciplining the seafarers if they were slacking off and trying to sleep during their nightly watch. Although, during this time, it was called cobbing not paddling.
Spanking is a particular parenting behavior that I feel strongly about. In my particular case, my parents used spanking as disciplinary action if deprivation of privilege and time-out did not serve their purpose with my brothers and I. In these cases my parents would strike, or spank, our buttocks with an open palm to serve as a form of punishment. Although my parents did utilize spanking, they exhibited an authoritative parenting style where they promoted autonomy within reasonable limits (Bigner, 2013). I think that if spanking is used moderately and under these circumstances it can be an extremely effective form of discipline. Unfortunately, parents often abuse spanking resulting in numerous negative effects on children. Also, corporal punishment, such as spanking, is most often associated with authoritarian parenting styles. Authoritarian parents typically use forceful means to gain their child’s cooperation and obedience.
Even though there are a bit of a difference how to disciple, the fact that gives an idea that spanking has something in common in order to fix children’s behaviors all over the world. Because I am not used to American culture, I have thought ‘In America, kinds of physical punishment won’t happen.’ Whereas, a lot of people consider that spanking a child’s bottom should be continued for rising for one as an important part of society. Even though our ancestors are all different among cultures, they respected and tried to follow spanking as an important tradition. On the other hand, spanking is still controversy because of concerning child abuse and violence. Sometimes most of the people spanked hardly children for a long time ago. However, recently parents rarely spank them because that attitudes regarding community mores change greatly from one generation to the next. As a result, spanking toward a child doesn’t mean violent anymore because parents concern how they raise their children in a good
Many reasons why people are fearful of the spanking technique are because they believe it to be “ineffective” and dangerous. Some believe that it is only going to produce fear itself into the child’s eye, and only make the child fear his parents rather than understand that there is a reason behind the spanking. Because of this act of “harm” some would say, it is only going to produce a negative effect inside the child’s brain and he will use this new found knowledge on other children. This spanking, explained by experts, will only negatively impact children rather than producing a better outcome, and will make the child produce a violent behavior of their own later on in life. While on the other side of the argument, people believe that it if spanking is properly used and understood by the child, it will be the most effective to repent undesirable behavior in younger children (not of infants). It’s believed that if you take away privileges from the child, it will only increase their temperament and make them behave even more inappropriate than before. When children become older then spanking from the parents or family should become less frequent because the child will understand that there will be consequences for their own actions taken place. But the spanking shouldn’t be used to actually cause physical harm, because this would be come to known as actual child abuse, rather than actual method to better increase the actions of the child. All and all I believe that spanking is a proper technique in disciplining children. Although it’s a good to do so it also has to be used in an appropriate matter, otherwise it could just turn into child abuse. But I believe earth itself is becoming too soft, and soon one day everything will be dangerous. If it were possible, would you want to live
The second reason why spanking should not be done to children is the fact that it is a form of child abuse. At the moment, countries are divided as to legalize corporal punishment or create a law saying it is illegal. In the book written by Abela (2007) for the Council of Europe, she notes that “spanking of children less than two years old increases the risk of severe physical injury and the child is unlikely to understand the connection between behavior and punishment.” Most parents tend to go overboard when disciplining their children, especially when they are very angry and have not subdued their anger. This then makes the child their venting medium to get rid of that anger and sometimes, they do not apologize and even forget why they have done the deed. Other parents tend to make this a habit and even if the child did nothing wrong, they would still continue spanking the child. Eventually, the parents may slowly abuse the child through pain and totally make the child’s life a complete hell. As a result, child becomes frail and suffers psychological problems. Some countries, especially social services, use this as grounds to get the child away from the family and file cases of child abuse and physical injury that can lead to jail time if proven guilty. Spanking may also cause scarring and may be with the child