Parenting Essay

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.

It is common knowledge that children learn from what they are taught in school and at home. What is spanking teaching our children? According to L.D. Eron “spanking models aggressive behavior as a solution to conflict and has been associated with increased aggression in preschool and school children.” (Guidance for Effective Discipline, online) The consequences of spanking does not just effect the children, but also the world around them. Expert P. Cohen says that “spanking has been associated with higher rates of physical aggression, substance abuse, increased risk of crime and violence.”(Guidance for Effective Discipline, online) Consequently, the people in today’s society who are not wanted on the streets are being taught to be this was by their own parents. Taking a look at kids who were spanked, as these kids transition into adults they are reported to have more anger. This increases the chance that they will spank their own children and put them at risk for abuse. (Guidance for Effective Discipline, online) Is spanking your child really worth it? Many parents will say “this is the only way to teach them a lesson” but look at the messages the parents are sending their children. Repeatedly spanking your child can cause aggression and turmoil. This will lead to broken child-parent relationships. According to A.M. Graziano in her article Sub-abusive Violence in Child Rearing in Middle-class

Spanking has received a bad reputation dues to increase in child abuse that is report yearly. In 2012 2.9 million cases of child abuse was reported in the United States this neglect and abuse. (Safe Horizon, 2012) As a child I was spank, punished and talked to about what was acceptable behavior, respecting all adults and people in authority. As a child I would have rather receive a spanking because my mom never stop talking but maybe that because I got so few spanking.

Other parents believe that spanking their child will only make them listen to them more. Well, this is idea is relatively false. When a bond is broken between two people, that creates trust issues. The child will feel that they cannot trust their parent. They will feel fearful to be spanked or to be hurt in any other way. This will cause the child to actually step back from the relationship because they are unsure of their own safety. This leads to the child having aggressive expectations. The child is prepared to aggress first before they are aggressed

One's own upbringing defines their parenting philosophy. Good parents have known the importance of prompt decision making for their kids.The same they would like their kids to follow.There is never a later time to teach this to kids. Make your kids good decision makers from an early age. Impart your kids with intellect and foresightedness. We must know that kids brains grow and function at a faster than ours.The brain grows at an amazing rate during development. At times during brain development, 250,000 neurons are added every minute! By the age of 2 years old, the brain is about 80% of the adult size.

Those parents that believes in spanking, most comes from a Christian background. It is widely believed the God commands them to spank for the wrongdoing. The Christians knows in the Bible it says in Proverbs 19:18 “Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying”. So, therefore they have no problems spanking the children for their misdeeds.

Parents have been finding new ways to discipline their children for decades, but one form of child rearing has endured through out the years as the go to punishment, spanking. Although spanking children has been around for a long time, it is a form of abuse used to punish bad behavior in children, the term spanking dissociates hitting kids and abusing them. Spanking children is extremely popular in the United States with almost all parents participating in this cruel behavior. Giles-sims, a Professor of Family Sociology at Texas Christian University quotes a study that says, “99% of parents had spanked 5-year-old children at least once” (Giles-sims, 170). The reason spanking is so common is because there is a lot of misinformation about how spanking effects kids. Parents do not know what spanking will do to the psychology of the child or the relationship they have with their children. For that reason, Parents should not discipline their children through spanking because spanking can have adverse effects on children’s relationship with parents and other children.

Just about everyone believes that spanking is a necessary method of obedience for children to help legislate order in or out of the home. According to Cheryl Ladd, “discipline is so much of an important part of being a parent. Because it’s very, very important to teach your children to take responsibility for their actions.” Although I believe that spanking is not harmful, granted that it is not excessive, it is used as a disciplinary tool, helps kids decipher what is right from wrong, and keeps children motivated to do better and stay out of trouble.

The research on disciplinary spanking is misleading. There are three major criticisms of the research against spanking. The first is correlational which does not prove causation. All of the evidence against spanking has been based on correlations. Most of Gershoff and Grogan-Kaylor’s evidence is based on “cross-sectional” correlations. These correlations only consider data collected during one time period without considering the previous state of the research participants. This kind of correlation technique superficially makes spanking appear to cause aggression since the children spanked more often are the children who were more aggressive during the same time period. This is a problem for research on spanking because there is no way to tell what came first in cross-correlational research so there is no way to tell what affects what. Even if infrequent spanking is correlated with better outcomes than overly frequent spanking, that does not prove that zero spanking is best. Every child is different. There is not a certain amount of times a child can be spanked in order for them to change behavior. Only 4 of their 75 studies were limited to two open-handed swats to the buttocks for child defiance. The other 71 studies lumped together all “spanking” regardless of how it was implemented and why it was used. Not all spanking is the same, some is stronger

First, spanking has consequences that aren’t any worse than those provided from other non-violent forms of punishment. In a 2005 study commenced by the Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, it was found that when used correctly, spanking leads to lower inappropriate behavior levels than 10 or 13 other disciplinary alternatives with which it has been compared. Kids whose parents balance affection and punishment often come out much better in the long run than those who experienced other various punishments.

Yelling in public, crying over the smallest things, throwing a tantrum every five minutes; all these things have the same solution, which is spanking. People think spanking is a way to raise their children. Spanking is used among parents to teach their children a lesson if they act in a way they are not supposed to act. Some parents use spanking as a way to discipline, a way to teach the child a lesson, or it can be a natural thing in their household. The method of spanking as child rearing has caused some controversy about whether spanking negatively influence a child’s future behaviors and actions. The practice of spanking can later reflect their violent behavior as they get older. Children can easily misunderstand the message behind spanking and unknowingly use it the same way as their parents. Children can, therefore, use the method of spanking toward their new upcoming urge for violence or bad behavior. All of their future actions are now reflecting what they learned in their few years as a baby; they have learned the pain and method of spanking. It is only natural for them to use what they learned in their future. While the method of spanking for child rearing is used among many families, it is important to know whether this practice of spanking is effective in a beneficial way or if it is a definite way to create a child who has a violent behavior. It is better to know whether spanking is favorable in a child’s rearing years, rather than to use the

Last, spanking can make a child feel resentment towards his parents. Children who are used to being spanked develop a kind of bitterness that can rapidly turn into hatred because the child will have the feeling that his parents don’t care about him. In addition, what really interest them are the errors he makes and how they are going to punish him. So in the end, the child will turn his back on his

Raising a child isn't an easy thing to do. Raising a child while the parents are still in their teens is even harder. Dealing with the day to day chores that involves a baby and trying to work and get an education is very stressful on any teen.

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

This paper analyzes various parenting styles based on research by developmental professionals. The four basic patterns of behavior discussed here are authoritarian, authoritative, neglectful and indulgent parenting with the latter two being classified as permissive. Characteristics typical to each of these styles and their effect on parent and child will be explored in detail. Cultural differences will be discussed and what influences parenting has on education. Behaviorist research will be introduced and examined for comparison to the developmental approach. The research will indicate that about one-third of all parents use authoritative style of parenting. Regardless of the preferred style, varying factors