Everyone in this world has a different behavior, this difference in behavior can be explained because of their experiences through life. One of the most dramatic impacts towards the development of a person’s behavior is the way they were educated as a child.This is where the topic of is physical punishment the correct form of educating children or not?The opposing sides state that children should not be educated by physical means such as spanking because it affects the child’s mentally also, children who are educated by spanking tend to be more aggressive and parents sometimes just use spanking as their own personal stress reliever. People that have to refer to physical punishment to get their points across are just taking the lazy way of parenting. One of the biggest reasons why a child’s mental development suffers a drastic shift in a negative way is whether if they were educated through physical punishment or not. According to article posted in CNN , Spanking the gray matter out of our kids it states that children are affected in their development if they were spanked as a child. The article mentions a research that was done, the results were the following. “ Researchers found children who were regularly spanked had less gray matter in certain areas of the prefrontal cortex that have been linked to depression, addiction and other mental health disorders, the study authors say.” This means that the children who were spanked compare to the ones who were not had
Punishing children for their wrong-doings has been and always will be necessary for a child's development of right and wrong. The different types of punishments parents use on their children work for various types and degrees of trouble the child is in. Laura Markham, a clinical psychologist that specializes in relationship-based parenting, assumes in her essay “Should You Spank Your Child?” that spanking is one of the worst punishments a child could receive from his parents. However, corporal punishment teaches responsibility and the difference between right and wrong, remains different from abuse, and is not the reason for issues in adulthood.
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
Even after years of research, the issue of whether spanking is an adequate discipline strategy or damaging to children remains a controversial topic. According to Kazdin and Benjet (2003) the definition of spanking is “. . . hitting a child with an open hand on the buttocks or extremities with the intent to discipline without leaving a bruise or causing physical harm (p. 100). In addition, according to Maguire-Jack, Gromoske and Berger (2012) only a few studies propose that spanking is an effective form of discipline. On the other hand, there is more evidence to show that spanking is an unsuccessful form of discipline that can led to unwanted consequences (p. 1960). I personally do not take a stance in this topic because I can see valid points from both parties. Although, I believe that the way the punishment is presented to the child is extremely important. For example, I feel that the child should know why he or she is punished and what is expected of them thereafter.
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.
Jordan Riak, leader of Parents and Teachers Against Violence in Education, once said, “Spanking does for a child's development what wife-beating does for a marriage.” Spanking has become a highly accepted form of child abuse in today’s society. Spanking can lead to psychological and mental struggles, behavioral and violence issues, lower cerebral capacities, and less remorse for wrongdoings as an adult. So why are we still choosing to hit our children? It is impossible for children to learn from their mistakes from spanking. The reasoning and understanding portion of their brain shuts down due to fear. However, when approached about their behavior verbally and when the issue is worked through reasonably with
Editors remarked that in, “Spanking Your Children: Good or Bad”, the CED studied how spanking may be effective short term, but there may be consequences later in life. The more children are spanked, the less they are likely to be mannerly, and well- behaved in the future. They continued on by stating, “Spanking does not teach children why their behavior was wrong or what they should do instead; it teaches children that the only reason to behave appropriately is to avoid being punished.” (2017). This research has proven that there is not only a physical negative reaction, but a mental one too.
When someone becomes a parent they constantly worry about how their child will turn out, if they’ll raise their child correctly, and some people even obsess with wanting to use the best disciplinary methods on their children. Everyone has their own input, their own view, and their own opinion about how to parent a child correctly. Spanking is a universally debated topic. Many experts go against corporal punishment, but many parents still think that spanking is an effective discipline strategy. Should they do it? Is it effective? What are the consequences and the effects? Throughout my paper I will go over the many reasons as to parents should not spank their children.
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.
A study conducted in this article by Murray Straus a University of New Hampshire professor, shows 110 studies have linked mild punishment to increased misbehavior during childhood, and well into adolescence. As well as experiencing issues in adulthood as well, issues such as abusing spouses or even experiencing depression. A study conducted by Diana Baumrind was used as a refutation point in Pitts Jr. earlier essay. In this article Diana Baumrind concluded that children who were spanked had no more of a behavioral problem then the children who weren’t. But goes on to say that parents who regularly rely on physical punishment, can cause harm to the
Everyone has heard the expression, “my parents spanked me and I turned out just fine.” Thirty years ago people did not think twice about spanking their children. This was a socially excepted form of discipline. In fact, it was so publicly accepted that even teachers and principals were allowed to spank children. Today spanking has become a taboo subject. Some believe spanking is irrefutably a form of abuse. However, others resort back to the belief of, “spare the rod and spoil the child.” Researchers believe that spanking can lead to aggressive behavior and psychological impairments. Instead, psychologists encourage the use of alternative forms of discipline, such as positive reinforcement and redirection. Although it is each individual’s decision whether or not to spank a child, the long-term effects of spanking far outweigh the benefits of the immediate change of behavior.
Spanking children is a very controversial topic; there are people who agree with spanking and there are those who disagree. Everyone’s decision varies based on if they were spank or not spanked as children. After taking several courses in child development it is my belief that physical punishment actually alters the brain, it can traumatize a child, as well as have a decrease of gray matter in certain areas of the prefrontal cortex that have been linked to depression, addiction and other mental disorders. Which could be a leading cause for children growing up with higher risk of commenting a crime. Some may say there is no damage left on children and it can alter unwanted behavior affectedly. Regardless of the reason for what people stand behind when it comes to spanking, it is my belief every individual reacts different to being spanked. There are many elements that affect if the outcome is positive or negative. Spanking should only occur if a child is mentally capacity to understand it is a form or correcting unwanted behavior; followed by a firm lecture as to why the child got spanked. A child should know why they were spanked, furthermore, a parents’ goal should be to not resort to spanking. As a child, I was not spanked, nevertheless, I knew my parents could spank me; from witness childhood friends get spanked. The beliefs and values of American’s are that no one deserves corporal punishment, however, corporal punishment is practice in homes on children, corporal
Spanking, also known as corporal punishment is a highly controversial method of discipline that parents currently use in an attempt to modify their children’s misbehavior. This type of punishment is not known to uplift the essence of education in children, and many parents and researchers feel that spanking leads to developmental problems. Research studies show how spanking produces a negative effect in children, and parents and caregivers should reconsider the use of corporal punishment as a form of discipline for their children because of its harmful effects. In addition, there are other, better alternatives that can be used to discipline children.
Anti-Spanking advocates argue that the effects of corporal punishment in the long-term matter much more than the short-term obedience that parents obtain when they hit their child. According to research by Elizabeth Gershoff on the long-term effects of spanking; “In a series of meta-analyses, spanking was associated with increases in mental health problems in childhood and adulthood, delinquent behavior in childhood and
Spanking is an ineffective method for disciplining children as it both validates violence and creates antisocial behaviour while failing to teach a child why their actions were wrong. As some parents continue to utilize spanking, the children often internalize many negative side effects. They learn to “legitimatize violence”2 thus carrying these issues into other interpersonal relationships. Using their caregivers as models, they are more likely to hit others such as peers & siblings “as means of resolving their conflicts.”1 Ironically, this is exactly what some parents are trying to eliminate. Other children may become increasingly antisocial. From the perspective of a child, those who are supposed to protect them chose to hurt them instead.
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