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Corporal Punishment Controversy

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In 2013, Adrian Peterson, a Minnesota Vikings running back, faced felony charges and indicted by a jury with reckless injury of a child (Goessling). This incident sparked controversy on the topic of where the line is drawn between discipline and abuse. Oxford dictionary defines corporal punishment as: “physical punishment, such as caning or flogging.” On one hand, many parents argue that spanking or other corporal punishments are not abusive because it teaches respect and consequences for bad behavior. However, on the other hand, others maintain that spanking and other corporal punishments are harmful because it does not teach respect but instead inspires fear in the child and does not effectively teach them what they did wrong or what they did to deserve such punishment. Seeing both sides of the argument, I argue that the line between abuse and discipline is crossed when the punishment causes damage to the child, whether physical or psychological. I would go on to argue that spanking and other corporal punishments are not ideal because it does not show the child what he or she did wrong, can escalate into harsher punishment and borderline abuse, and has been shown to not be effective and can actually cause more behavioral problems in children.
Parenting is one of the hardest jobs in the world. Children don’t come home from the hospital with an instruction manual and only so much information can be acquired from parenting books at the local bookstore. Discipline can especially be a hard subject for new parents, considering that there is no real “right” way to punish your children for bad behaviors. Spanking is a commonly used strategy to combat childhood wrongdoing. Spanking has been used as a disciplinary tool in reportedly 90% of American families (Wolraich et al.). Spanking and corporal punishment has a high prevalence in American society. Although spanking is seen as acceptable by the majority, this does not mean that spanking is good for the child. Dr. Elizabeth Gershoff, a developmental psychologist, asserts, “There is little research evidence that physical punishment improves in the long term. In contrast, there is substantial research evidence that physical punishment puts children at risk for negative

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