Controversy: The Effects Of Corporal Punishment On Children

Markham believes that “corporal punishment was linked with . . . increased rates of aggression, delinquency, mental health problems, and problems in relationships with their parents. . . .As adults, they are more likely to hit their spouses.” Markham’s statements, however, can easily be disproven. Markham based her facts on an “analysis of 88 corporal punishment studies over six decades. . . .” While initially these studies may seem trustworthy, it is impossible for them to be believable. Six decades ago, if a child was receiving a punishment, he was told to grab a switch from outside and bring it to his parent so the child could be spanked with it. When that child became a parent a couple decades later, he used the same form of punishment on his children because it worked on him when he was a child and the cycle then repeats. These studies cannot accurately show that spanking in childhood has caused issues in adulthood because throughout generations parents continue to use the same punishment on their children even if the parents did not agree with the punishment when they were

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.

The poll asked if a child less than one year old should be spanked. As a result, 81 percent of the mothers disagreed with spanking a child less than a year of age, and 19 percent believe a child under a year of age should be spanked (Jet 16). Then when asked if a child of 1-3 years old should be spanked, 26 percent disagreed with spanking at that age and an astounding 74 percent agreed with spanking a child of this age(Jet 16). When asked about the harshness of the spanking, 92 percent said they do not leave visible marks of damage while only eight percent say they do leave a mark upon the child (Jet 16). The results of both polls show consistent finding with the research of sociologist Richard J. Gelles, PhD, and director of the Family Violence Research Program at the University of Rhode Island. He Believes ?Hitting children is so taken for granted in out society that almost all parent view spanking as an inevitable part of raising children?(Working Mother 48). He believes this ideology will remain apart of our culture because it is infused within each of us since birth (Working Mother 48).

Jordan Riak, leader of Parents and Teachers Against Violence in Education, once said, “Spanking does for a child's development what wife-beating does for a marriage.” Spanking has become a highly accepted form of child abuse in today’s society. Spanking can lead to psychological and mental struggles, behavioral and violence issues, lower cerebral capacities, and less remorse for wrongdoings as an adult. So why are we still choosing to hit our children? It is impossible for children to learn from their mistakes from spanking. The reasoning and understanding portion of their brain shuts down due to fear. However, when approached about their behavior verbally and when the issue is worked through reasonably with

When someone becomes a parent they constantly worry about how their child will turn out, if they’ll raise their child correctly, and some people even obsess with wanting to use the best disciplinary methods on their children. Everyone has their own input, their own view, and their own opinion about how to parent a child correctly. Spanking is a universally debated topic. Many experts go against corporal punishment, but many parents still think that spanking is an effective discipline strategy. Should they do it? Is it effective? What are the consequences and the effects? Throughout my paper I will go over the many reasons as to parents should not spank their children.

Much controversy surrounds the topic of corporal punishment with children. Arguments against the use of physical punishment usually revolve around the perception that it is abuse and that healthier methods of disciplining children effectively accomplish adjusting behavior. Those who support spanking usually employ religious arguments, citing religious values, or cultural arguments, citing social context and how parents themselves were raised. Religious beliefs, culture, and perceptions of abuse produce different approaches to parenting. Diana Baumrind identified three styles of parenting, authoritarian, permissive, and authoritative (Berger, 2014, pp. 287-288). These methods of parenting will support or oppose corporal punishment to varying

Currently, 24 countries have banned the practice of spanking children; labeling it child abuse. However, in America 49 states permit physical punishment by parents (Gershoff). There are mandates that define appropriate physical punishment, but there is truly no appropriate way to hit a child. Parents often resort to spanking in an effort to control their child’s behavior. It is true that most children will immediately respond to the pain that is inflicted upon them and stop the bad behavior. However, it is proven to make children more aggressive towards others. Furthermore, it is not worth the risk of causing life altering psychological impairments. Instead parents should focus on non-violent forms of discipline, such as positive reinforcement and redirection or time-out. Spanking may give parents the immediate satisfaction of changed behavior, but it is not worth the life-time of damaging

Spanking children is a very controversial topic; there are people who agree with spanking and there are those who disagree. Everyone’s decision varies based on if they were spank or not spanked as children. After taking several courses in child development it is my belief that physical punishment actually alters the brain, it can traumatize a child, as well as have a decrease of gray matter in certain areas of the prefrontal cortex that have been linked to depression, addiction and other mental disorders. Which could be a leading cause for children growing up with higher risk of commenting a crime. Some may say there is no damage left on children and it can alter unwanted behavior affectedly. Regardless of the reason for what people stand behind when it comes to spanking, it is my belief every individual reacts different to being spanked. There are many elements that affect if the outcome is positive or negative. Spanking should only occur if a child is mentally capacity to understand it is a form or correcting unwanted behavior; followed by a firm lecture as to why the child got spanked. A child should know why they were spanked, furthermore, a parents’ goal should be to not resort to spanking. As a child, I was not spanked, nevertheless, I knew my parents could spank me; from witness childhood friends get spanked. The beliefs and values of American’s are that no one deserves corporal punishment, however, corporal punishment is practice in homes on children, corporal

Parenting is one of the hardest jobs in the world. Children don’t come home from the hospital with an instruction manual and only so much information can be acquired from parenting books at the local bookstore. Discipline can especially be a hard subject for new parents, considering that there is no real “right” way to punish your children for bad behaviors. Spanking is a commonly used strategy to combat childhood wrongdoing. Spanking has been used as a disciplinary tool in reportedly 90% of American families (Wolraich et al.). Spanking and corporal punishment has a high prevalence in American society. Although spanking is seen as acceptable by the majority, this does not mean that spanking is good for the child. Dr. Elizabeth Gershoff, a developmental psychologist, asserts, “There is little research evidence that physical punishment improves in the long term. In contrast, there is substantial research evidence that physical punishment puts children at risk for negative

In 2014 UNICEF reported that 80% of parents in the world support spanking (Holeman and Wire). Another study conducted in 2012 showed that 70% of parents that live in America, also, support the use of spanking (Perry). Despite the majority in favor of spanking, there are numerous debates about whether spanking is an effective way to discipline your child or not. In result of the debates many researchers have conducted studies based solely on the outcomes of spanking. A great number of the studies have concluded that there is a positive correlation between spanking and aggression, mental illness, and antisocial behaviors in the future. Despite the current view on spanking, researches have conducted many experiments which conclude that spanking has many negative outcomes. Therefore, spanking should not be used as a way to discipline kids because of its negative effects on the child’s behavior.

Child abuse is a complex, surreptitious social problem that has been around for as long as humanity itself. The collective consequences of childhood abuse and spanking can be detrimental and are reflected in addictive behaviors, dysfunctional family dynamics and mental health problems in general. Can the commonly used practice of corporal punishment and spanking be justified as an appropriate method to discipline children?

Research shows that the majority of parents use a combination of aversive and nonaversive punishment by the time the child turns three (Lauer & Lauer, 2012). Every time they would spank me, they would explain to me what I did wrong and they gave high levels of warmth and emotional support, and this helped prevent the detrimental effects that are associate with spanking (Lauer & Lauer, 2012). Their use of aversive punishment tends to be consist with the general population, as 94% of parents of parents used corporal punishment on their 4-5-year-olds, while 40% used corporal punishment on their 13-year-olds (Lauer & Lauer,

While some think or believe that spanking is a destructive form of discipline and is ineffective. Others believe that spanking children is necessary especially when dealing with an unruly child. Spanking is not a practice that is accepted everywhere in the world and is prohibited by law in some places. In some countries such as Germany, France, and Spain spanking is illegal and considered a crime while in the U.S. as of recent there appears to be a trend of punishment for “physically harming” children. In fact, parents can be prosecuted, jailed and have their children taken away as a result since it is deemed as child abuse. Even though spanking a child is illegal and prohibited by law in some places, it is still yet a method used and a common practice of discipline and the law often turns a blind eye to it, if it is done within reason.

Many studies have come out with negative effects that can come about from using many forms of corporal punishment. As parents we need to ask ourselves are we able to control ourselves when we are upset at our kids? Are we able to be fair to our kids? Can the things we do to our children come back and turn out to be used against us and others? “Corporal punishment

This provides us further with the ‘why’ of parents in favor of spanking, despite negative evidence to its implementation in child punishment. Bell and Romano start the article with the idea of the root of the study conducted. “The use of corporal punishment has been linked to negative developmental outcomes for children.” So with this information, why does spanking continue? The results of the survey tell us why. “Those who report experiencing more corporal punishment during childhood but also more parental warmth/support hold more favorable attitudes toward spanking and those who report experiencing more corporal punishment during childhood and also more parental impulsiveness hold less favorable attitudes toward spanking.” (Bell and Romano, par. 1) Positive reinforcement of spanking is the main perpetuator between parents who were spanked, who now spank their children. It is hard to view a choice your parents made as a ‘bad and damaging parenting choice’ if everything else they did, except that one thing, was positive. So, sure, they spanked you, but they also provided love and support, so spanking can’t be that bad, right? When it comes to the ‘why?’ of the continuation of spanking in our culture, Isaac’s historical and societal acceptance could be