preview

Essay On Spanking

Decent Essays

Parents have the privilege and responsibility of shaping their child’s behavior in a positive direction. To help teach children to be responsible and less destructive, most parents use spanking as a way to correct the child. Parents who oppose spanking suppose that spankings can lead to physical abuse. Many parents believe that they should not discipline their children by spanking; however, spanking for disciplinary measure is a necessary teachable moment for children.
Corporal punishment is using physical pain in response to behavior that has been deemed inappropriate. The AAP defines spanking as “striking a child with an open hand on the buttocks or extremities with the intention of modifying behavior without causing physical injury” (Jones …show more content…

They will accept their punishment and comply in a short amount of time (“10 Prevailing Pros...” 1-2). A child will respect authority when they know every wrongdoing gets some kind of physical consequence, and the child will not repeat bad behaviors by reinforcement (1). A mother remembers fearing the paddle, which she says is a good thing. When the crime meets the punishment, she feels that there would be fewer bad children if more parents did spank. In one year, ninety-four percent of three and four year olds have been spanked. Seventy-four percent of mothers think spanking is alright for kids one to three (O’Callaghan 1). Compared to non-parents, parents view physical punishment as more common than people without children (Marcus 2-3). Majority of the population thinks that spanking is barbaric basing it off of abuses rather than the biblical model. Many parents who think that way have problems at home including conflicts all the time, loss of control, and no way to fix the problems. Since opposers buy into the stereotypical model of spanking where out-of-control parents and religious extremists beat children instead of disciplining them, they reject the entire idea. Because parents do not know how to spank, they think spanking should not be done at all (Ingram 3), but “The Bible never implies that the rod of discipline should be violent”

Get Access