Physical Punishment: Disciplining Children

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.

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

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

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

Parents believe that some physical punishment is necessary and it will not cause adverse effect to children in the future, but that is not the case. In fact harsh discipline, specifically physical punishment, can lead to internalizing of problems and also a possibility of the physical abused children their anger on other younger children. (Zens et al. 190)

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.

Discipline is very important in everyone’s life. All parents try to do their best for their children. However, this crucial issue is sometimes misunderstood by some parents when it comes to disciplining their children. Some parents use a very controversial method known as spanking which is a corporal punishment that can have tremendous consequences on a child’s life. Although defenders of corporal punishment argue that spanking allows parents to curb children’s behavior, spanking has been shown to have long lasting effects on a child. Not only does it teach children to be violent, it also reduces the trust between parents and children. Furthermore, it makes a child experience resentment towards his parents.

In this report, I concentrated my research on the fine line between physical discipline and child abuse, with emphasis on spanking vs. not spanking and its effects on children. Included are research from statistics, opposing views and arguments, advocates’ and Department of Children and Families’ position.

Many studies on cases of adults who have tendency to perpetuate abuses, either as a victim or as an abuser, are traced in the pattern of violence experienced at home, and many are reportedly experience being physically violated by spanking during their childhood. Despite the information and advocacy available in almost all media these days, there are still parents who thought that spanking their children to emphasize discipline is still beneficial. The benefits cited by those supporting spanking as acceptable method of discipline varied across culture and race. Generally, there are three views or positions about spanking as a form of discipline (Benject C. & Kazdin A, 2003) : Pro-corporal punishment, anti-corporal punishment, and conditional corporal punishment.

The United States has evolved tremendously within the last fifty years. The “baby boom” era raised their children in a much different environment than parents do today. With new research and analysis from psychologists and physicians, the way of parenting is now taking a major turn. Historically, parents in the fifties used disciplinary methods to make their children behave. A major method was physical punishment, or spanking. As Paul C. Holinger MD, writer of “Spanking and Other Physical Punishments-Revisited,” states, physical punishment is a major problem in the United States that affects the mental health of children, which further affects society as a whole. Due to research and hypothesis testing, the United States

Children need discipline, but corporal punishment is not the answer. In an article by Susan Perry a meta-analysis is studies and proves that corporal punishment is a problem to children. This specific study is centered around spanking, and it showed that children were more aggressive, had a negative relationship with their parents, more likely to have mental health issues, low self esteem and lower cognitive abilities. This research also proved that corporal punishment did not improve the behavior of children and also proved that corporal punishment led to

Spanking a child is not against the law in most places. However, parents who use it in their homes are being accused of child abuse. The Chicago Tribune published an article that urged readers to report child abuse when they become aware of it. In the article “Child abuse in plain View” the author describes spanking as a type of abuse that happens behind closed doors (“Child abuse in plain View”). Like most critics of corporal punishment, the author is trying to link spanking to abuse. The author`s concern about abuse is a valid one. Abuse should be reported immediately. However, any attempt to define spanking as abuse is wrong. Spanking a child is not abuse. It is an effective way of discipline that helps guide the child into becoming a respectful and responsible person.

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.

Some say that “parents are not stupid, they know the difference between beating and spanking” (Saunders 1). But, what some people might not know is that “the main problem with discipline, or corporal punishment, is that it can lead to child abuse, critics say” (Henderson 141). Parents might get use to always turning to physical discipline on their children after a certain length of time and children might start getting use to it too. In this case, adults are going to think what they can use to make the children understand and feel the pain when they misbehave and this can lead to the use of objects such as belts, wooden spoons, paddles, etc. Corporal punishment tends to escalate as it is used. In other words, it becomes more and more harsh as it eventually gets out of control overall. Alvy sums it up in saying that corporal punishment is often the beginning of what is considered as

Corporal punishment including spanking is a widely used disciplinary technique in most families. But the method has been questioned about its effects the child’s mental and social development. A new study suggested that spanking a child can lead to mental health issues.