Disciplining A Child : Corporal Punishment

In modern society, physical discipline is still considered a somewhat suitable way of teaching children how to behave in life, though it is decreasing in popularity as time goes on. When using physical discipline, the parent should never have the intention of causing harm, they should always have the intention of being constructive. Whether or not physical discipline results in a beneficial outcome is dependent upon how it is used. If it is the only, or primary, source of discipline, the outcome is generally unfavorable. Also, as said in an article by Larzelere and Kuhn, if the discipline is too violent, and results in the child becoming injured, the child is not going to retain the intended lesson (1). An example of non-abusive physical discipline is conditional spanking. Conditional spanking "is defined as about two open-hand swats to the buttocks when a parent is not angrily out of control" (Larzelere, Kuhn 1). This type of punishment "teaches a child to cooperate with the milder disciplinary tactic, thereby making spanking less necessary in the future" (Larzelere, Kuhn 1) . When parents decide to use physical discipline, the primary intention of the parent should always be that the punishment is being "used in such a way that [it] reduces the need to use it in the future" (Larzelere, Kuhn 1). A parent should never hit a child

Well, many parents find that time-outs and physical punishments are becoming more and more ineffective when disciplining children; this leaves parents questioning their authoritative abilities. In a recent study conducted by Dr. Shari Barkins in the article, “Positive Reinforcement is More Effective than Punishment”, “1 in 3 [parents] said they could not effectively discipline their kids” (Pope). This shows that many parents are experiencing difficulties and challenges when using punishing methods when disciplining

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.

Every human being has been disciplined at some point of their life. The term discipline can be defined as to teach knowledge and skills; however, it is often equated to punish and control in parenthood. The different ways to discipline a child has been a hot subject since the early times of the biblical period. Many states in the United States had created laws to protect children from child abuse. In the last decade child abuse has been on a rapidly growing issue. The goal of parenting is to provide a child with the necessaries and emotional care to further their physical, emotional and social devolvement. This can be a challenging task to meet because every parent has their own discipline method to get their child fit for the real world, so they can be successful in life. The five discipline methods are time out, Logical Consequences, Natural Consequences, Withholding Privilege, and disciplinary spanking. Although many parents believe that disciplinary spanking is the best discipline method for a child, but many studies shown that it should not be practiced due to acting out of rage and can have future problems in a child adulthood.

Corporal punishment which disciplines wrong behavior should not be considered child abuse because it is beneficial to the child.That is, it teaches children the necessary knowledge of what behavior is wrong. Without this knowledge, children will believe that simple sins such as lying, stealing, and cheating are acceptable. Consequently, they will be unable to function normally in society. Corporal punishment has been found to be the most effective method of teaching children the knowledge of what behaviors are wrong. In the article “Smacked Children More Successful Later in Life” by Murray Wardrop, the spokeswoman for the child advocacy organization Parents Outloud, Margaret

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

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.

Should one punish their child by the use of spanking to correct their child’s wrong behavior? Is it morally correct to punish a child in this manor? Punishment takes place universally, meaning it happens in places all over the world. Punishment is characterized as a type of training that is often used to correct a child from repeating the act of doing something wrong beyond the first action of the wrongdoing. There are many forms and types of punishment that parents may chose to use on their child, however spanking has recently been brought up as possibly being morally misconstrued. Some parents determine wether to use just one or combine methods of punishment to teach their child the right way to do things. However, not everyone identifies spanking a child as an act of moral malpractice. According to some parents the fundamental objective for spanking a child is to punish their misbehavior, thereby reducing the reoccurrence of the behavior happening again. Parents often punish their children to achieve not only short-term compliance but long-term changes in behavior (Gershoff, 2013). The punishment often only provides immediate compliance and may still

Discipline is very important in everyone’s life. All parents try to do their best for their children. However, this crucial issue is sometimes misunderstood by some parents when it comes to disciplining their children. Some parents use a very controversial method known as spanking which is a corporal punishment that can have tremendous consequences on a child’s life. Although defenders of corporal punishment argue that spanking allows parents to curb children’s behavior, spanking has been shown to have long lasting effects on a child. Not only does it teach children to be violent, it also reduces the trust between parents and children. Furthermore, it makes a child experience resentment towards his parents.

Should the use of corporal punishment to discipline children be considered child abuse? Annotated Bibliography

Discipline is one of the basic things a child learns from his parents before he or she faces the outside world to learn more about life as a whole. Teaching this trait can depend on how the parent shows it to their child and how they explain the importance of having this trait both in and out of their homes. Misbehaving children cannot be avoided as they are curious little beings and they have a tendency to explore. But there are some parents, even teachers, who do not tolerate misbehaving and they resort to corporal punishments such as spanking to make sure the child never forgets how painful it is to misbehave as they will remember the punishment entailed to it and become more disciplined. However, not all children would understand the

Corporal punishment, specifically administered by teachers, demeans and humiliates children. Some hypothesize that disciplinarians utilize euphemisms to refer to this because they feel some form of guilt for these inappropriate actions. Some examples are “paddle”, “spank”, “whip”, and “smack”. This terminology appeals to the everyday citizen more than the words “strike” or “hit” since they do not elicit the same negative responses. Though negative responses are less commonly provoked from these words, countless psychological disadvantages generate once these actions transpire. Teachers and adults in general, impart life lessons directly and indirectly upon children. What most of them do not grasp is that when they exercise physical discipline, they simultaneously perplex and shame the child. Given that they are the ones who build their self-confidence, an adult’s role in a child’s life is a critical one. One can infer that influential adults, whether positive or negative, are the “scaffolding” of a child’s mental outlook. Physical castigation confuses the child, by conveying to them that they are inferior, vulnerable, and “bad”- going against what the adult figure has previously instilled. As a result, a fragment of their self-confidence diminishes. An eight-year-old girl, who endured corporal punishment, claims, “It stings you and makes you [feel] horrible inside.” Besides the psychological drawbacks, corporal punishment fosters violent solutions to difficulties and endorses this form

Research done by leading pediatricians, the American Psychological Association, and countless other sources since the 1960’s have completely revolutionized parenting and fundamentally changed how parents raise their kids. From a child’s nutrition to what your kids should watch on TV have been extensively studied, but none other more than corporal punishment as a means of discipline. Arguably one of the most difficult things any parent has to face when raising a child is discipline. Many parents, whether having their first child or already raising a family, often ask themselves: is corporal punishment an acceptable form of discipline and what effect could it have on my child? Like Dr. Spock wrote in his parenting guide, “The best test of a

This high amount results from an attempt to make children comply, as corporal punishment is typically employed both to elicit immediate compliance from the child and to inspire future compliance. In the short term, it is effective at achieving compliance (Elliman & Lynch 196); however, this is more due to the threat of force than the wish to comply, and long-term compliance with demands is actually damaged by corporal punishment (Gershoff 2008, 13). This means that corporal punishment, which is mean to incite positive behavior, instead incites misbehavior (Elliman & Lynch 196). Furthermore, corporal punishment’s effectiveness in the short term can easily be met by other methods such as a special time-out area barred from the outside by a gate. (Gershoff 2010, 35-36).

Children are like flowers, if well taken care of they will bloom. If ignored or tortured, they will wither and die. Child discipline is one of the most important elements of successful parenting. Today, many people have this notion that physical abuse is in no way a solution to helping children discern between right and wrong. Since generations children have been taught the art of discipline through physical punishment. Often this approach to disciplining has resulted in two outcomes, one is where the child becomes more tolerant and is willing to adhere to what he/she has been told, or the other which more often results in children developing a sense of anguish and desire to revolt.