According to Roger Thompson, associate professor at Stony Brook University “If we are going to take seriously what science tells us about how we form relationships and how our mind develops, we will need to construct new strategies for parenting and when we do… we just may change the world” (Thompson). Punishment is usually intended to correct behavior, get rid of or lessen unwanted behavior and encourage better normative behavior. Parents often try to use punishment, such as spanking, to guide children, show them was is acceptable and what is not. This technique is outdated, unnecessary and harmful. To see that spanking as punishment for children is wrong, one needs to look at significant factors such as how the brain of a child works, the more effective options and the long term effects. In order to look at the effect of spanking on children, first one needs to look into how a child’s brain works, and how it is affected by the use of this punishment. As emphasized by Roger Thompson, associate professor at Stony Brook University, mirror neurons discovered in the early 1990’s play a large role in child development. These neurons fire the same way when one see’s something happening in the same way as when one does that action (Thompson). Mirror neurons are an important concept to consider when looking into how children will be affected by spanking. When children are being spanked, the same neurons are firing as when they see someone else being hit, this can translate into
It is often argued that spanking children will lead to the kid having socialization problems, affecting child’s behavior and functioning. People think the results of spanking will lead to “...having problems with learning and memory because of the functioning process”. Or maybe the memories of being punished will affect the child negatively, and turn into being isolated to themselves, not being very sociable, or having poor performances in school.
Spanking kids leads to depression (“9 things to do Instead of Spanking”,2016). Multiple studies show that teens are more likely to aggression, depression, and drug use when they are hit as kids. They don’t know any better than being hit. They also will think it is okay to hit others. Spanking makes kids feel insecure and leads to self-esteem problems.
Everyday parents are faced with the challenges of disciplining their children. We all wish there was an instruction booklet that we could magical pull out and get them back on the right path, but no such thing exists. Often times, your child pushes you to the edge of your personal limitations. At this moment it is often we correct our child’s behavior by spanking. Spanking is considered a form of discipline that is acceptable by most and an unacceptable to a smaller crowd. Spanking can lead to psychological problems in early adolescent, which long term can lead to emotional and anger retention.
Researchers have studied that spanking is effective for anyone’s child who had experienced the pain of spanking on their bottoms or any part of their body because it has shown that it has increased the aggressiveness as well as mental issues towards his or her families and peers. For instance, in a book that was based on a true story called “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” where Henrietta had a cervical cancer in her, so years has passed by she had died from the cervical cancer and leaving her children behind. The children had nowhere else to go but to live with their aunt’s house named Ethel. Later Ethel had decided to abuse these children because she had hatred towards Henrietta who Galen was interesting to be with her instead her wife, Ethel. Ethel starves Henrietta’s children by walking them at dawn and forcing them to do chores. In the summer she sends them to Clover to pick the worms off the tobacco leaves and if they ever stop she would beat them. Out of the most of who got abused was Joe Lacks who changed his name to Zakariyya because she would abuse him for no reason by forcing him to stand in the dark basement for hours on end. Over the years now that Ethel has completely crossed the line of abuse he had gotten downright angrier and angrier by having him to have mental disorders, aggressiveness as well as anger because of what he had experienced in the past now that it has permanently affected him for a while by having problems in his later life and becoming an alcoholic, getting himself in trouble as well as murdering someone. Many people say that spanking is a good example of punishing your child, however; parent’s need to realize that if they have crossed the line from spanking it is now considered as abuse
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
Firstly, spanking can cause depression which can be bad for their personality. For example, according to the article, “Spanking Your Child: Good or Bad”, it states, “Studies show that the more children are spanked the less likely they are to be compliant and well-behaved in the long term.” The quote in the article
long term, children will have the autism when the fear affects their cognitive development. As well, the anxiety will have an impact on children’s brains. It can make children over-stressed and cause the reduction of their memory, emotions, and self-control. IQs of children ages 2 to 4 who were not spanked were 5 points higher four years later than the IQs of those who were spanked. The IQs of children ages 5 to 9 years old who were not spanked were 2.8 points higher four years later than the IQs of children the same age who were spanked (University of New Hampshire 2009). Spanking is not an efficient and safe way to affect children’s physical and mental abilities.
According to Dr. Peter Newell “ all people have the right to protect of their physical integrity, and children are people too”(pg.7). Punishment distracts the child from learning how to resolve conflict in an effective and humane way. As the educator John Holt says “ when we make a child afraid, we stop them from learning dead in it’s track”. This is important because, spanking your children will leave them in huge shock for no matter how long and their would probably spaced out. Spanking send shock waves to your child putting them in shock and fear from you. Many children are paralyzed through nerve damage from spanking.This will hinder the establishment of meaningful relationships so essential to an emotionally fulfilling
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
Spanking hurts children psychologically because it puts them at a greater risk for psychological disorders. Anxiety and depression are prevalent in spanked children (Oppenheimer, 2011). In a study of one-hundred-seventeen children, one-hundred-ten demonstrated evidence of developing a mental disorder (Straus, 2011). Besides causing harmful mental side-effects, spanking is linked to lower empathy levels and domestic violence (Straus, 2011). If a child does not see love from his/her parents, then a child does not know how to show love or understanding.
The main problem with spanking is that it may increase the child's belief that violence is a good way to solve problems and/or the spanking will instill the child with feelings of defiance and anger towards the administering person. (Duncan, 2007) I believe that effectual spanking would include proper education with love before and after the spanking for the purpose of clarifying the intent of the person who is spanking and the cooperation of the spanked child. The understanding of the context and reasoning of the parent is crucial for the child to grasp before an effective physical discipline session can be carried out.
In the other side, parents who agree argument that “Spanking is not laziness and it teaches children consequences for their actions” “disrespectful youth today shows what happens when necessary spanking is forgotten” “Parent first; friend second” “you cannot fix a tree after is already bent”, etc. This side argues that is effective when children are defiant and try to overthrow the authority or who controls the situation. They argue that they do it for the own child good and even thought it feels unpleasant (obviously) it will shape a conscious character for the future (if you use it correctly). For example, [2] the University of California, Berkeley, who followed healthy middle-class white families prospectively for 15 years, showed families where parents occasionally employed spanking (defined as one or two open swats on the bottom of a child between the ages of two and six) as one form of discipline within an otherwise
In the 1900’s most parents spanked their children, but should parents still do so? In 2000 only 41 percent of kids were spanked, and I believe that this generation is full of evil and bad kids. I believe that if kids are spanked they will have more respect for everyone.
The issue of corporal punishment, i.e. spanking, and whether its use should be endorsed or condemned, has long been debated. Research on this topic is difficult, especially because it is ethically impossible to assign children and parents randomly to groups that use spanking as a disciplinary method. And even if researchers track children who are spanked, it is just as impossible to accurately measure every contributing variable – from children’s behavior and parents’ intents, to the intensity of the punishment and children’s sensory and emotional perception. Nevertheless, research has been conducted and experts who contend the disciplinary practice, claim that corporal punishment can become a chronic stressor, might actually cause more aggressive behavior, and even slow down children’s mental development (Wright & Straus, 2009; Berlin, 2009). Other scientists have argued that the research underlying these claims is flawed, for example because it does not exclude all other variables that could be responsible for the negative outcomes (Bialik, 2009). Scientists in favor of, or at least not opposed to, spanking declare that, when used under certain circumstances, corporal punishment is not harmful and could even have more beneficial outcomes than other disciplinary techniques (Larzelere, 1996).
This site is an online article clip from a book published by The American Psychological Society. Within this article are the discussion of different views on spanking, key conclusions about its effects, and the methodological limitations of the research and resulting points as to why it’s under current debate. This is an extremely reliable source, due to the fact that it is a well-known society and was also written by students of one of the tops schools in the USA. Discussed