The Pros And Cons Of Corporal Punishment

Physical harm for actions deemed negative has been a part of human civilization since the beginning of time. Corporal punishment is the act of inflicting physical pain onto another because of their wrongdoing. It has been in the spotlight of intense scrutiny and defense since psychology and the understanding of punishment in general has become more prevalent. It has been used in almost all walks of human life. Schools, homes, jail, etc. have all used or still use corporal punishment as a means of correcting a person’s misbehavior. In this essay, I intend to defend both sides with an objective perspective. Ultimately, though, I will show the reasoning for corporal punishment being a barbaric, ineffective, and counterintuitive method of conditioning a person out of negative behavior.

It could even teach them a lesson. But there is no positive outcomes that come from spanking. Spanking your children leads to depression, bad behavior, and it doesn’t improve their behavior; therefore you should not spank your kids.

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.

Spanking a four-year old causing trouble leads to more trouble so why hit him, it only causes them to act up, but alternatives to spanking can be used upon a child to get them to behave. “The right of parents to physically discipline their children is ingrained in American culture and recognized in our laws” (Blum 921), but a toddler doesn’t need harsh physical discipline to learn the difference between right and wrong, it doesn’t need to be spanked because they are doing something they are not supposed to be doing, it just needs to be told that what they are doing is wrong and they should stop. After a while the child knows not to do certain things because they know they shouldn't do them. One very good example of an alternative to spanking is putting the child in time-out. Let’s say the child is misbehaving a lot, yelling across the room or throwing a tantrum because you didn’t want to buy them a toy they wanted, and he or she doesn’t want to listen to anything you are saying, giving the child a warning allows them to consider where their parents are coming from, but if they ignore it putting them in time out gives the child some time to reflect on what they did wrong. This works very well with young children because they have a fear of being by themselves. Some “ Mexican” parents tell their kids that once they get home they will get a spanking because they were misbehaving, but this puts the child in a state of anxiety, no child wants to get home from a long day and get

Despite there being support for some of the short and long-term benefits of corporal punishment, there is plenty of opposition to corporal punishment for a variety of reasons. Starting as early as the 1960s, corporal punishment has been said to be “unacceptably degrading punishment” (Lenta 2012: 692), “harsh discipline” (Mayer and Blome, 2013: 145) and psychologically distressing (McLloyd et. al 2007:166).

Spanking children still a huge controversy within the realm of parenting. It can be viewed as hateful, dangerous, and detrimental, or it can necessary, caring, and effective. None of these views are wrong. You spank a child because they aren’t listening to reason and they need to learn a lesson so they don’t continue such behavior as they grow older, but if hit too hard or taken too far the results can be detrimental and possibly dangerous. Spanking is still legal in all 50 states, but some are on the faces as to whether to make it illegal.

Spanking has become an arguably debatable form of discipline. According to a study at the University of Texas, the more children are spanked, the more likely they are to defy their parents (“Spanking: Pros and Cons”). There is a connection between spanking during the childhood and mental health diagnoses later in life. There are other options of discipling your child than spanking them, especially because all children can take spanking differently. Parents should not spank their child because it showers that being “stronger” is right, demonstrates that older people have a right to hit younger people, and gives the examples that violence solves all problems.

As a teacher and part of a behavior support team I would not debate with a family on whether the corporal punishment is wrong or right, rather educate them on different approaches that can be used. For example, the use of reinforcement can be used to teach children that when they do good, great things will come to them. Reinforcements involved praising and rewarding a behavior to increase the likelihood of the repetition of that behavior. Punishment can be used to teach children that there are consequences to their behaviors, actions, and often they are not pleasant ones. Occasionally, when people hear the word punishment, they think of harmful things, which is not always the case. In this sort of punishments a consequence is usually follow to decrease the likelihood of the occurrence of such behavior. I will also help the parents keep in mind that the best way to get children to display a desired behavior by modeling such behavior to them. According to Bermuda (1977) children learn through the process of observation, imitation, and a child environment and surrounding greatly impact their behaviors. I totally support this view because I had the opportunity to observe such behavior in multiple occasions. For instance, a cousin of mine has two children whenever the oldest exhibit a bad behavior she would use corporal punishment, therefore, when they youngest

The term corporal punishment means the intentional infliction of pain on the body for purposes of punishment. "Spanking can be defined as the use of physical force aimed at causing children to experience pain but not injury, for the purposes of correction and control of youthful behavior"(http://www.123helpme.com/preview.asp?id=32539). Spanking is a controversial topic and should not be taken lightly.

The world has changed in many different ways, but there are still things that need to be changed for the better. Corporal punishment is one of those things. All around the world, corporal punishment is affecting children in many ways. It is described as a form of discipline that hurts a child in a way and is used both in homes and schools. It has been going on for years upon years and very few people try to stop it. People believe corporal punishment is good for children, but there have been so many negative outcomes that other people argue against it. Although some people believe that corporal punishment helps improve a child’s behavior, corporal punishment should not be used because it could be used excessively and it is ineffective.

Punishment, the word has brought fear to men and children alike, leaning towards adult offenders it tends to take on deeper connotations. As a child you would be punished by your parents, school leaders and other parental figures, and mostly under not so serious circumstances, usually requiring very little corporal punishment and/or separation from entertainment devices. As we get older the offenses tend to be greater and therefore demand greater punishment, despite having histories involving death sentences and hard labor, some methods have done little to deter some offenders. The question this raises of course, should we focus more on punishment or on rehabilitation, concentrating on punishment some would say stricter… while many will

It is a common enough scene, something you have probably experienced with your own children countless times. They are being loud, fighting, or just generally doing something they are not supposed to be doing. So you spank them. Maybe even yell. You’re frustrated, at your whit’s end. You just want them to stop, want them to learn and make better choices. Only, after spanking them, their behavior worsens. The effect you thought spanking them would have is not working. They act out more, get more aggressive. A debate has risen, as scenarios such as this become more talked about. Some say corporal punishment is damaging psychologically and negatively impacts childhood development. So the question has to be asked: “Is spanking bad?”

Corporal punishment is the unlawful intentional act of causing harm by physically inflicting punishment on the body of an offender or severely criticising the offender. There is a distinction in common-law between corporal punishment in the public sphere and in the private sphere.

Corporal punishment is a form of punishment used on children to correct bad behavior. The definition of corporal punishment is, a physical punishment , as flogging, inflicted on the body of one convicted of a crime (Dictionary.com). While several states strictly prohibit corporal punishment in schools, 44% of states in the U.S. still allow it to occur. Corporal punishment is an inappropriate way to correct bad behavior. However, almost 50% of the states in the U.S. still allow it to occur. Corporal punishment is always wrong to use in schools because it causes long-term negative effects on students, negative opinions of school or teachers, and it can increase the rate of crime and violence from students.

Corporal punishment is the unlawful intentional act of causing harm by physically inflicting punishment on the body of an offender or severely criticising the offender. There is a distinction in common-law between corporal punishment in the public sphere and in the private sphere.