Corporal Punishment and the Effects of Its Usage

Corporal Punishment helps kids learn better because it is a quick punishment that you can get over fast so you can go back to class. It’s better than other punishments such as suspension, because if you get suspended you “miss school and you also miss instructions”(source B ) and you can not do your work.

The term corporal punishment means the intentional infliction of pain on the body for purposes of punishment and includes slapping, hitting with objects, pinching, shaking and forcing to stand for long periods of time (Epoch 1). Family researchers define corporal punishment as " the use of physical force aimed at causing children to experience pain but not injury, for the purposes of correction and control of youthful behavior" (Day 83). Spanking is one form of physical or corporal punishment (Epoch 1).

When considering the effectiveness of corporal punishment, it is important to take into consideration the effects that it has on whole populations rather than just one case. Jared Pingleton, a clinical psychologist and a minister writes in an article for Focus on the Family as an appeal for the necessity of corporal punishment, “Many parents today view themselves primarily as their child’s friend and recoil at the idea of administering discipline. Children, though, desperately need their parents’ love and affirmation as well as their authoritative guidance and correction”. (Pingleton, 2014) This way of thinking about discipline is very important regardless of whether corporal discipline is used, but the use of spanking is often the most immediately effective way of conveying this message. Pingleton suggests in his step by step guide to carrying out discipline that when a parent approaches spanking properly, it can create a lasting sense of love and respect between the parent and the child. Spanking is used around the world to influence child development, and although it has many positives, it is also necessary to examine its’ alternatives.

While reading Cleverley & Phillips ' Visions of Childhood I found that many views of the past relating to corporal punishment have changed significantly. During my readings I read things that instantly stood out to me. The first being how many issues and their solutions revolved around religion. John Wesley, was the founder of the Methodist Movement, and he believed that children were born with sin and that it was the parental duty to discipline the unruly child, starting at an early age. During this time period, corporal punishment was a common practice. Wesley used reference to the Bible verse in Proverbs to declare, “Spare the rod, spoil the child”, (Cleverly and Phillips, 1986) in turn parents believed they were doing God’s will with their harsh punishments.

Implementing physical punishment is a topic that many people and even professionals seem to have some disagreement on it. Some believe that spanking should be used to discipline children, but others believe that spanking brings more damage than results. In this paper I will define what physical punishment is and where I stand in regards of this matter. In addition, I will explain the advice I would give to a parent who asks if spanking is a correct way of disciplining their children.

Corporal Punishment is a physical form of punishment where a person inflicts pain to punish another; when someone commits a crime. There are different variations of physical pain; such as spanking, paddling, or caning, which is given to parents, guardians, school officials, or other officials. There are other types of physical pain, in ancient times, people would inflict pain by flogging; whipping, branding and amputation. It is now known today as a source of punishment in the legal system, and in homes of citizens. Corporal Punishment still exists today are in the United States, Japan, England, and China.

2011) Corporal punishment exhibited by parents onto children has been a topic in psychology for many decades. It has been reported that approximately 94% of American parents are spanking their children by the time they are 3 or 4 years old (Gershoff 2001). Whether or not this method has been effective has caused many uprising with opinion papers in the field of psychology. “The ongoing debate to whether the benefits of corporal punishment might outweigh any potential hazards; some have concluded that corporal punishment is both effective and desirable, whereas others have concluded that corporal punishment is ineffective at best and harmful at worst,” (Gershoff 2001). As stated before certain parenting styles enforce punishment onto their children if there is requirement not met or the child obedience falters though these children usually don’t turn out to be in the best emotional state as an adult (Ribeiro 2009). “Previous researches pointed out those adults (parents and teachers), who were physically punished in their childhood, are more supportive of corporal punishment than those who were not subjected to physical punishment” (Naz et al. 2011). This explains reasons in why punishment continues throughout a family’s generation, because as a child when corporal punishment or just punishments in

“ More than 3.6 million reports of Maltreatment”.People may think that abuse and corporal punishment has the same effect on a child the same way discipline does. The effect of abuse and corporal punishment on a child life is negative while the effect of discipline is positive.

Corporal punishment is a widely debated and hot button issue. Whatever one's beliefs are on the subject, science has shown that corporal punishment does not work and has many negative consequences.

For many years, corporal punishment has been considered an acceptable form of discipline for parents to use on their children. In fact, “…research shows that up to 90 percent of parents spank their children” (Ogilvie). Despite the number of people who utilize corporal punishment, there is still a fierce debate about whether or not it is effective or healthy. Arguments have explored the effect on behavior, personality, relationships, and perspectives for the child. The purpose of spanking is “…to correct or to punish a child’s behavior by causing physical pain” (Cuddy and Reeves). Spanking, however, should not be acceptable, as it causes long-term damage to children and is less effective than other forms of punishment.

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.

Each of the reviews has a different viewpoint on corporal punishment; some of the reviews take a look at who is most affected by corporal punishment in terms of focusing their lens on race, socio-economic status, gender, culture etc. Some also take a critical look at the advantages and disadvantages of corporal punishment. Some take a look at the widespread of corporal punishment in the US. Cases against corporal punishment and the effect of corporal punishment on children were also looked into. With all the different ways corporal punishment has been looked into by different research work, there is one common theme every one of them talks about and that is the detrimental effect of corporal punishment on children. Alternative to corporal punishment is what every one of them recommended.

There are many different ways of disciplining a child. Corporal punishment is one of the main ones. The term corporal punishment means the intentional infliction of pain on the body for purposes of punishment and includes slapping, hitting with objects, pinching, shaking and forcing to stand for long periods of time. Family researchers define corporal punishment as " the use of physical force aimed at causing children to experience pain but not injury, for the purposes of correction and control of youthful behavior" (Murry). This essay is going to talk about how corporal punishment affect the child.

Corporal punishment is used as a form of discipline for some parents. Corporal punishment can involve acts such as spanking, and can be viewed through a child’s perspective or an adult centered perspective. However, many parents are unaware of the drastic negative side effects that this form of punishment will have upon a child. These effects can be observed even if the child is spanked a small number of times as expressed by Murray Straus in Ten Myths That Perpetrate Corporal Punishment. Additionally, many parents are ignorant to other forms of disciplines that may be used in place of corporal punishment.