The Thin Line Between Child Abuse And Abuse

“Physical punishment of children: Can we continue to accept the status quo?” by Kim Oates is a scholarly source found in the Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health. The author of this journal argues that discipline with physical punishment is not only inefficient, but it also causes problems in the emotional and behavioral development of children. He follows by providing practical forms of disciplining such as: removing privileges, teaching by example, having constant supervision, setting appropriate rules, and being consistent. Kim Oates states that those parents who use physical punishment to discipline their children, likely experienced it during their childhood and are usually unaware of these other methods of discipline. Oates included

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.

The use of corporal punishment by a parent is currently legal in every state in the U.S., and nineteen states still allow its use by teachers and administrators in schools. GOOD START Although it is legal, corporal punishment is constantly accused of being child abuse. Child abuse is defined as the physical or mental injury, sexual abuse or exploitation, negligent treatment, or maltreatment of a child under the age of eighteen. Some people believe that all corporal punishment should be considered child abuse, others believe that corporal punishment should not be considered child abuse at all, while still others think that some corporal punishment is child abuse, and some is not. Ultimately, corporal punishment should not be considered child abuse if it is mild and is used to discipline wrong behavior.

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

There are different outlooks on spanking. Sheree L. Toth, author of the CNN article “When does spanking become abuse?”(CNN) discusses her negative point of view on corporal punishment. In her article, she discusses how corporal punishment can have long-lasting effects on the mental state of the child and shift parental relationships with their children, all caused by the use physical discipline. “Corporal punishment is of limited effectiveness and has potentially deleterious side effects,” Toth states. She recognizes the effects that corporal punishment may have on individuals, and she disagrees with the uses of it. Toth also understands what the outcomes

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.

We live in a world where punishment is used in order to teach someone a lesson, or to show them that acting a certain way isn’t right. The mission of parents is to be able to teach their kids to surpass them, and to prepare them for the real world. One way of punishment that a lot of parents practice is spanking their children. According to the website, Brookings.edu, it states that in North America, 81% of parents say that spanking their children is sometimes appropriate. While some parents think that spanking is a good way in order to discipline their children, they shouldn’t because it teaches them that violence is the answer, it can cause emotional damage, and it doesn’t teach them how to communicate with other people.

The term corporal punishment means the intentional infliction of pain on the body for purposes of punishment and includes slapping, hitting with objects, pinching, shaking and forcing to stand for long periods of time (Epoch 1). Family researchers define corporal punishment 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" (Day 83). Spanking is one form of physical or corporal punishment (Epoch 1).

Corporal punishment is defined as the deliberate infliction of pain as retribution for an offense, or for the purpose of disciplining or reforming a wrongdoer, or to deter attitudes or behavior deemed unacceptable (Wikipedia 2014). The line between spanking and abuse is not always clear and is decided on a case by case basis by the state prosecutors and judges and whether the line has been crossed. If asked parents use the word spanking as not just a slap on the buttocks, but a form of corporal punishment that is not severe enough to be classified as abuse. Corporal punishment has been repeatedly associated with child abuse, moral internalization, aggression, delinquent and antisocial behavior, decreased quality of the parent-child relationship, increased behavioral symptoms, later criminal behavior, worse mental health, and perpetration of spouse and child abuse (Gershoff, 2002; Zolotor et al., 2008).

Much controversy surrounds the topic of corporal punishment with children. Arguments against the use of physical punishment usually revolve around the perception that it is abuse and that healthier methods of disciplining children effectively accomplish adjusting behavior. Those who support spanking usually employ religious arguments, citing religious values, or cultural arguments, citing social context and how parents themselves were raised. Religious beliefs, culture, and perceptions of abuse produce different approaches to parenting. Diana Baumrind identified three styles of parenting, authoritarian, permissive, and authoritative (Berger, 2014, pp. 287-288). These methods of parenting will support or oppose corporal punishment to varying

Apart from corporal punishment, there are many tactics can be used to discipline children, such as reasoning. Spanking is not the only choice. In fact, spanking might to be good choice. Sarah Landy, child psychologist with Toronto's Hincks Institute who leads parenting courses for parents having children who are hard to be disciplined, reported that most parents told her that spanking was useless (qtd. in Bennett). Holly Bennett, Freelance editor, writer and researcher, gave a reasonable explanation, “Spanking tends to divert the child’s attention away from the original issue (his own behaviour) because it provokes such strong emotions -- fear, resentment, hostility.” As a result, through corporal punishment, parents might not be able to teach children anything, but leave their children painful

The stresses of parenting are often times hard and relentless. With this in mind, many parents try their best to deal with those stresses and make the best of raising their children. This often-times requires disciplining, in order to end and/or curb bad behavior. Corporal punishment is one of these forms of discipline. According to Merriam Webster Dictionary, corporal punishment is “punishment inflicted on a person's body” ("Corporal Punishment"). The most common form of corporal punishment is spanking which is often used to deal with child rearing or bad behavior (Knox and Brouwer 341-342). According to American Academy of Pediatrics, upwards of 90% of Americans spank their children infrequently (American Academy of Pediatrics 725). Furthermore,

Psychologists differ on what produces the negative correlations in a study of corporal punishment. psychologist Dr. Gershoff argues that spanking leads children to believe that violence achieves results, while Psychologist, Dr. Baumrind and her colleagues opposes that excessive child misbehavior, which can elicit increased disciplinary responses of all kinds, leads to the detrimental outcomes, not the spanking itself. In such circumstances, says Gershoff, excessive child misbehavior is likely the product of ineffective parenting strategies that a parent has used over time (Smith, 2002, page

The fact that spanking has been around since early history creates an illusion that spanking is a viable tool for changing behavior but this is false.For example, Racism has been around since early history but that doesn't make it a viable reason to practice it in society. Parents do not understand that time does not automatically mean spanking decreases children's negative behavior. However, time is a useful tool for measuring the effectiveness of parental spanking. Researchers have found, “The risk of mild spanking escalating into harsh spanking and the link between harsh spanking and increases in future child externalizing problems suggest the need to work with parents to find alternatives to spanking for managing their children's behavior.” (Lansford 234). The purpose of spanking children is to reduce negative behavior so parents do not have to continue spanking their children, however spanking clearly does not do this. Not only is spanking an ineffective tool to change behavior spanking builds on itself leading to even harsher forms of spanking over time. One study found “our results indicate that maternal spanking predicts increases in later child’s externalizing behavior” (MacKenzie 657). This means even maternal parental spanking of children does not decrease externalizing behavior, but can cause more of negative behavior undermining the entire point of spanking. Parental

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.