Is It Illegal For A Child As A Form Of Discipline? Essay

In modern society, physical discipline is still considered a somewhat suitable way of teaching children how to behave in life, though it is decreasing in popularity as time goes on. When using physical discipline, the parent should never have the intention of causing harm, they should always have the intention of being constructive. Whether or not physical discipline results in a beneficial outcome is dependent upon how it is used. If it is the only, or primary, source of discipline, the outcome is generally unfavorable. Also, as said in an article by Larzelere and Kuhn, if the discipline is too violent, and results in the child becoming injured, the child is not going to retain the intended lesson (1). An example of non-abusive physical discipline is conditional spanking. Conditional spanking "is defined as about two open-hand swats to the buttocks when a parent is not angrily out of control" (Larzelere, Kuhn 1). This type of punishment "teaches a child to cooperate with the milder disciplinary tactic, thereby making spanking less necessary in the future" (Larzelere, Kuhn 1) . When parents decide to use physical discipline, the primary intention of the parent should always be that the punishment is being "used in such a way that [it] reduces the need to use it in the future" (Larzelere, Kuhn 1). A parent should never hit a child

“Physical punishment of children: Can we continue to accept the status quo?” by Kim Oates is a scholarly source found in the Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health. The author of this journal argues that discipline with physical punishment is not only inefficient, but it also causes problems in the emotional and behavioral development of children. He follows by providing practical forms of disciplining such as: removing privileges, teaching by example, having constant supervision, setting appropriate rules, and being consistent. Kim Oates states that those parents who use physical punishment to discipline their children, likely experienced it during their childhood and are usually unaware of these other methods of discipline. Oates included

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.

According to Prevent Child Abuse North Dakota, “The goal of discipline is to create an orderly, predictable, stable, and fun world to enjoy and grow healthy.” When it comes to discipling a child, there are many different courses of action that could be taken. Parents can and should discipline their children (Smenyak). There is a large controversy over the most universal discipline method there is, spanking. Many parents believe that spanking their child can be a beneficial way of correcting a child if done correctly (Smenyak). Other parents believe that spanking a child is simply abuse, that it does not work, or that “Spanking plants a seed for later violent behavior,” says AskDrSears.com.

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

The experts that are against spanking say that it is a violent act and teaches children that hitting is okay. Pro spanking advocate, Dr. James Dobson, reprinted a very informative article by Dr. Den Trumbull M.D. and Dr. S. DuBose Ravenel M.D. entitled To Spank or Not to Spank: A look at an age-old question that baffles many physicians. It states, "There is no evidence in the medical literature that a mild spank to the buttocks of a disobedient child by a loving parent teaches the child aggressive behavior" (Dobson, 2004, p. 127). Dr. Dobson also cited the doctors whose article said that it is impractical to suppose that a child wouldn't show violent behavior if parents used other forms of discipline rather than spanking. Most toddlers, who have yet to be spanked because of their age, commonly strike out against others in aggravation. This is true of any toddler, seen out in public, who throws a temper tantrum over not getting his way. Countless parents, frustrated themselves, simply remove the child from making an undesirable scene. The only thing to do for a child of that age is to remove temptation and distract the child with a toy or juice cup. As the toddler grows, distraction is more difficult and the disciplining methods increase intensity. Some experts against spanking also argue that

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

Her credentials are professional nanny with “twenty-five years experience of helping families." Her stake in this issue is to help “parents transform the troublesome behavior of children and bring more peace and harmony to families.” She aims this book at parents of toddlers and young children. Her purpose is to persuade readers that discipline is not a bad thing and inform readers the proper way of implementing effective discipline techniques. She writes in an effort to “change that perception here and now because… parents’ inner conflict over the idea of discipline has led to lax, inconsistent, and ineffective methods of disciplining children, resulting in their being raised without proper limits and boundaries, and ultimately without respect, empathy, and compassion for others.” She claims that by implementing her five toddler rules parents will head in the right direction to creating “well-behaved respectful individuals.” She argues as related to the topic, discipline absolutely must not be physical… I’m credited in Great Britain with being responsible for 67 percent of parents now choosing not to spank, by helping them learn effective nonphysical discipline techniques. She reports a statistical ratio of parents who were spanked as children and currently claim to spank their children (sharp decline). She reports her findings resulted because the adulds who recieved corporal punishment as

Living in the twenty-first century you rarely ever see someone spank their child or hear the word spank come out of a parent’s mouth. I see too many parents today that are too self-righteous to “spank” their children, because many people see spanking as form of abuse. Many parents in today’s world use more reasonable punishments for their misbehaving children. Some parents put their children in time-outs, deny them of their freedom, take toys away and ground them. I have seen parents use these methods because there are more reasonable ways of punishing their child for being disobedient. However, not everybody in today’s world uses these methods for punishing children; some parents use the act of spanking for punishment. Spanking was a popular punishment back in the 1900s, but is a very debatable topic in today’s society.

CNN mentions that for decades experts have stated that spanking is not effective because it teaches a child to be scared of his parents and to not respect them (O'Callaghan, 2011). In fact it is dangerous because hitting can injure a child and teach him or her it is okay to hit someone if they disappoint them. Imagine a grown adult spanking another adult. This would be considered an assault, and is not acceptable in our society. Therefore, it is not okay for an adult to hit a child in our day and

children.' That is, a parent is permitted to hit a child as a way of

Brendan Smith (2012), focused on the harm and the negative impacts of parents spanking their children. Internationally it is viewed as a violation of children’s rights, and has even been banned in 30 different countries (Smith, 2012). Elizabeth Gershoff, a researcher on physical punishment suggests that physical punishment does not work because you have to make it stronger and harder every time in order to have the kids comply (Smith, 2012). It has been found that children who were physically punished are more likely to believe

Many people believe that "a quick swat" from them to their child sends a clear message and is effectual discipline when included with loving remarks and in consistent fashion. I believe this view is the best way to help us understand the question: "is it ever appropriate to spank a child?" I believe that the answer that most definitely does not solve this question is that disciplining a child with spanking is alright when nothing else will work, or when the parent has "had enough." This could lead to abuse and/or psychosocially damaging discipline sessions. The context is that all-important factor that defines whether the discipline is appropriate or not. Unfortunately, many parents may have inherited foolish discipline

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

Today, there is a common misconception that spanking is a form of child abuse. Some parents are actually afraid to discipline their own children using the same method used for 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 objective is to show that there is a fine line between the two terms Spanking and Child abuse. A Cambridge Dictionary states that Child Abuse occurs “when adults intentionally treat children in a cruel or violent way.” On the other hand, Spanking in the same dictionary means “to hit a child with the hand, usually several times on the bottom as a punishment.” In this way, the line between the two can be drawn where too much spanking results in bruises and scars on the child. Therefore, parents should not spank their children when they are angry themselves as the spank would turn out to be an unintentional smack. When this occurs, parents tend to accidently take out their frustration on the child. Primarily, this is when Spanking, a form of discipline, starts drifting towards the entire concept of ‘child abuse’.