Corporal Punishment : Its Harm And Its Alternatives

Child discipline is an important part of parenthood. It is challenging for adults to manage children’s behaviors and find the correct lessons that will benefit their children. According to the research performed by Flynn (1998), most parents in the United States agree that "it is sometimes necessary to discipline a child with a good, hard spanking" (p.26). Socolar et al. performed research which agreed that “corporal punishment of children persists—roughly fifty percent of the parents of toddlers in the United States use corporal punishment as a regular method of disciplining their children.” (as cited in Gershoff, 2010, p.32). That is not to say that physical punishment is the solution as it can stop a behavior immediately but the results

Thomas Eddlem is a longtime freelance writer and high school history teacher. His credentials as related to the topic of corporal punishment is that he is a parent to three children as well as a blogger. His stake in this issue is appropriately used corporal punishment is both effective and beneficial. Additionally, He discloses no noteable financial backing for his opinions. He aims this article at a universal/ friendly audience. His purpose is to persuade the audience to believe that corporal punishment, when used on toddlers, is the most effective means of discipline. He claims a ban

By avoiding the use of corporal punishment these methods are much more effective as long as they remain consistent. Respecting a child and managing their growth is necessary, it is how these punishments are effective when implemented in future situations. These corporal punishments often start as exactly that, punishment, but ‘nearly two-thirds of the abusive incidents begin as acts of corporal punishment meant to correct a child's misbehaviour.’ (Gershoff, 2010). Trying to find out why a child is behaving in a certain manner is also very important in determining if a direction change is needed rather than the constant use of abuse. Even more evidence of these actions above show that in analysis of the studies, (Gershoff, 2010) it was found that in 87 percent of the cases corporal punishment the children actually showed considerably less long-term compliance, displaying that it actually is not a viable method to sustaining a child’s

As the saying goes, “if people are good only because they fear punishment [then] we are a sorry lot indeed” (Albert Einstein). The question is whether corporal punishment is necessary with so many other methods of discipline available. Is it effective? This is a much-debated issue between childcare specialists and parents alike. Corporal punishment, like spanking, should not be the preferred method of discipline as it does more harm than good.

Despite there being support for some of the short and long-term benefits of corporal punishment, there is plenty of opposition to corporal punishment for a variety of reasons. Starting as early as the 1960s, corporal punishment has been said to be “unacceptably degrading punishment” (Lenta 2012: 692), “harsh discipline” (Mayer and Blome, 2013: 145) and psychologically distressing (McLloyd et. al 2007:166).

The stresses of parenting are often times hard and relentless. With this in mind, many parents try their best to deal with those stresses and make the best of raising their children. This often-times requires disciplining, in order to end and/or curb bad behavior. Corporal punishment is one of these forms of discipline. According to Merriam Webster Dictionary, corporal punishment is “punishment inflicted on a person's body” ("Corporal Punishment"). The most common form of corporal punishment is spanking which is often used to deal with child rearing or bad behavior (Knox and Brouwer 341-342). According to American Academy of Pediatrics, upwards of 90% of Americans spank their children infrequently (American Academy of Pediatrics 725). Furthermore,

In our culture, it is generally agreed upon that no man should hit his own wife, but whether a man should have the right to hit his own child is often debated. The use of corporal punishment on children does not seem like a serious issue to most parents, but the negative effects it has on a child’s developing mind is irrefutable. When a child is disciplined by means of beating and spanking, they are being taught that that problems can be solved with violence. According to the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (NAPNA), “...(Corporal punishment) is ineffective over time, and is associated with increased aggression and decreased moral internalization of inappropriate behavior.” (“Spanking Children Is Ineffective in the Long Term”) All parents should avoid using corporal punishment to discipline their children because it causes causes aggression in children, can cause them to develop mental problems, and is ineffective compared to other forms of discipline.

The American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children is pushing for the elimination of all forms of corporal punishment and physical discipline of children in all environments including in schools and at home. APSAC strongly believes that corporal punishment leads to child abuse. The line that distinguishes abuse and discipline differs among individuals. What is perceived as abuse in the eyes of one set of parents is nothing more than stern discipline to others. APSAC is striving for universal prohibition of corporal punishment in an effort to “promote quality, safe, and nurturing environments where children can grow and develop to their full potential” (Champions for Children,

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

The world has changed in many different ways, but there are still things that need to be changed for the better. Corporal punishment is one of those things. All around the world, corporal punishment is affecting children in many ways. It is described as a form of discipline that hurts a child in a way and is used both in homes and schools. It has been going on for years upon years and very few people try to stop it. People believe corporal punishment is good for children, but there have been so many negative outcomes that other people argue against it. Although some people believe that corporal punishment helps improve a child’s behavior, corporal punishment should not be used because it could be used excessively and it is ineffective.

Corporal punishment involves the deliberate infliction of pain upon a child, by an adult, as a result of the child's misbehavior or perceived misbehavior. It has been proven scientifically that the effects of it can be detrimental to the

However, the home is the most common place nowadays where corporal punishment is used. Parents spank/hit their child to keep them from misbehaving. Hitting children may actually increase misbehavior. One large study showed that the more parents spank children for rebellious behavior, the more the rebellious behavior increased. Corporal punishment can often cause injuries and trauma unnecessarily. Many acts of corporal punishment leave visible marks and bruises. Using corporal punishment could often evoke fear of the disciplinarian, which could potentially destroy the relationship between parent and child. The mental anguish, particularly for vulnerable students, can last a lifetime. This doesn’t have the effect of dealing with bad behavior. It can lead

Corporal Punishment is a physical punishment by using a cane, a ruler, a rope,...to torture on another's body. This action is performed by parents, husband, strong person, or legal guardians use this with the aims such as: punishment, teaching, deterrence of mistakes, or forcing someone to obey their opinions. “While corporal punishment is illegal in many countries like the United States, countries in other parts of the world like Africa and Asia use it as the form of discipline.”

More than 160,000 children were disciplined using corporal punishment during the 2013-2014 school year in America. This punishment is currently allowed in 19 states. Being paddled in these schools range from minor things to major things, minor things being such as not finishing homework. As a result of being paddled, some students have had to go to the doctor for broken bones, hematomas, etc. Regardless of corporal punishment being used as a disciplinary action to change behavior, juvenile crime has not increased in the 31 states who do not use it. There may be better ways to deal with children not listening to teachers in these schools. “The author’s note that while hitting an animal to the point of an injury as punishment in a public school is exempt from child

Patrick Lenta (2012) speaks on the injustice that children experience when they are spanked. Lenta (2012) expresses how these children have rights, just as adults, to not be mistreated unjustly, and how corporal punishment violates these basic rights. He then discusses how corporal punishment has been found to have serious psychological harm to the child, such as fear, or mental issues. This, in turn, could cause the child to have a harder time focusing on his or her schoolwork due to all the fear, and psychological issues they are trying to deal with as well as trying to keep up their good grades. Since the child might have a hard time focusing on school work, this could cause them to start to fail academically, which is an unwanted behavior to most parents, causing them to get spanked, and this vicious cycle repeats. It has been found, that a type of psychological effect that has been found in those children who have experienced corporal punishment as a child has lead to have post-traumatic stress disorder, in the same way, abused children have had (Nyarko, 2017). Nyarko (2017) argues that there has been a correlation between low self-esteem and corporal punishment, and how there is a correlation between self-esteem and academic performance. In turn, this could cause the children who have experienced corporal