In 2014 UNICEF reported that 80% of parents in the world support spanking (Holeman and Wire). Another study conducted in 2012 showed that 70% of parents that live in America, also, support the use of spanking (Perry). Despite the majority in favor of spanking, there are numerous debates about whether spanking is an effective way to discipline your child or not. In result of the debates many researchers have conducted studies based solely on the outcomes of spanking. A great number of the studies have concluded that there is a positive correlation between spanking and aggression, mental illness, and antisocial behaviors in the future. Despite the current view on spanking, researches have conducted many experiments which conclude that spanking has many negative outcomes. Therefore, spanking should not be used as a way to discipline kids because of its negative effects on the child’s behavior.
Elizabeth T. Gershoff, psychologist at the University of Texas, and Andrew Grogan- Kaylor, psychologist from the University of Michigan, conducted a study that overlooked 160,000 children in 75 previous studies over a 50-year period. Gershoff and Grogan-Kaylor operationally defined their study to reassure others that this experiment is valid. They defined spanking as “an open-handed hit on the behind or extremities” (Holeman and Wire). In addition, they made sure each study met specific criteria’s: It had to be peer-reviewed. It had to separate out of the effects of spanking from other
Spanking is subjective in the least. Most parents suggest that using spankings as a form of discipline is essential to the development of a compliant child. For most Americans, this truth is one of the core foundations of the American model home. “70% of mothers indicated they had spanked their child at least once by the time he or she was 2-years-old” (Lee, Altschul and Gershoff, 2015.) There are numerous amounts of evidence that point to the certainty that spanking is linked to child aggression. In,
A recent study shows 70 percent of parents believe it is right to discipline a child through physical means. Most commonly, parents will spank their children but being hit with things like belts or other objects happens as well. Parenting methods haven’t changed much with time and discipline in similar no matter the country. With more studies out to find the most effective method of parenting and discipline it’s coming to attention whether or not physical harm is the best way to teach children. Parents want what is best for their children, so it is important to constantly bring up and question methods commonly accepted in the past. One method that is becoming more controversial is spanking children. Though it is still considered normal to do, it is gaining more traction and more studies are being done to find the problems it causes. Checking on parenting methods can be difficult as everyone is raised differently. It is also difficult to test which forms of punishment lead to certain outcomes. However, there is a trend of negative effects from hitting. Gershoff acknowledges, “several national professional organizations have called on parents to abandon spanking as a child rearing practice and for professionals to recommend disciplinary alternatives to spanking.” Spanking children is a terrible discipline method as it has negative effects.
The common misconception that spanking is a form of child abuse affects the proper discipline of today's youth. Some parents are actually afraid to discipline their own children using the same method of belief from their own upbringing. Who is correct in the notion of right and wrong discipline? Is there such a thing as a correct way to spank your child? In my opinion, there is. So, my goal is to show that if the
15% of children are spanked before their first birthday, also 19 states in the U.S. allow spanking in schools. Spanking can cause aggression, mental disorders, and drug/alcohol abuse during adulthood (Online Psychology). Does spanking effect kids or effect how they act, does spanking effect later discipline techniques? Is it considered child abuse? Multiple questions on whether spanking should even be aloud.
The American Academy of Pediatrics determined in a 1996 conference on corporal punishment that spanking could prove useful if used as reinforcement of other disciplines (Rosellini 52). S. Kenneth Schonberg, a pediatrics professor who co-chaired the AAP
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.
It was recorded that 94% of these parents thought spanking was an appropriate action of discipline. People who feel that spanking should be outlawed often defend their side saying it causes kids to be more antisocial. However, according to Dr. Robert Larzelere, there were three replications that showed similar results among children who were punished with nonphysical disciplinary actions. They appeared to demonstrate the same antisocial behavior as kids who were spanked (2008, Larzelere). One child, who was asked about their own personal experience with spanking admitted to being spanked as a child.
Parents have been finding new ways to discipline their children for decades, but one form of child rearing has endured through out the years as the go to punishment, spanking. Although spanking children has been around for a long time, it is a form of abuse used to punish bad behavior in children, the term spanking dissociates hitting kids and abusing them. Spanking children is extremely popular in the United States with almost all parents participating in this cruel behavior. Giles-sims, a Professor of Family Sociology at Texas Christian University quotes a study that says, “99% of parents had spanked 5-year-old children at least once” (Giles-sims, 170). The reason spanking is so common is because there is a lot of misinformation about how spanking effects kids. Parents do not know what spanking will do to the psychology of the child or the relationship they have with their children. For that reason, Parents should not discipline their children through spanking because spanking can have adverse effects on children’s relationship with parents and other children.
Spanking as a way to punish children is a heated debate that does not appear to have an end in sight. The people on both sides of the issue have very strong opinions and do not seem to want to entertain the idea that the other side could be correct. This is generally how debates work, but one concern that is often not looked at is whether the claims from either side are valid and reliable. Anyone can make claims and find evidence for those claims, but the evidence may not be sound and therefore not useful. If we want our arguments to mean something we need to use evidence that is both valid and reliable. Lee et al. argue that spanking can lead to increased aggression in children ages one to five. They set out to determine if there is a correlation between maternal warmth and spanking in regards to childhood aggression (Lee).
In support with Pitts Jr.’s, Calvin College psychology professor Marjorie Gunnoe conducted a study on whether or not spanking caused more harm than good. In a report Dr. Gunnoe states “According to the study, children that were mildly punished up the age of 6, as teenagers were more likely to improve academically, consider college, and even volunteer
Growing up most children had experienced being spanked.Being spanked is not fun and hurts very bad. Sometimes children get spanked for something they did wrong or simply because they lied.Spanking is a form of child abuse and can hurt a child 's feelings. Spanking of children can cause a disattchament between parents and child. It can also cause a child to not trust their parents.Spankings can cause a distraction for children and it can affect their school work. Hitting children can cause them to have life memorable scar on their body that could cause reseniment. Spanking can cause a child to rebill against parents.It also can cause them to have hatred against their parents.Spanking is not accptable because it show children that its accpeteable to hit other children.Parents should not spank their children because it promotes violence, damages relationship and trust, and it teaches children to lie when confronted
You remember the pain you had when you were young after You got the spanking of your life. Yeah, “imagine hearing get your ass over here”. “Boom, crash” noise you go to check out the crash to check if everybody is okay. You see that a man has his belt off and the kid is holding three loaves of bread in their hand and you see the man bring his arm all the way behind him and “Wham”,he hits the kid with the belt.You here the kid yell for help and he makes eye contact with the child and he ask you to help him.Now the man is clearly drunk you can tell when he says, “you need to mind your business” he hits the kid again. What would you do? One of the greatest debates is whether or not a parent should spank a child. Several meta-analyses have been conducted over five decades regarding this subject and although this is very hard topic to measure it has been said that in addition to psychological effects on children that may be a very high price the parents will have to pay. Measuring the effects of spanking have proven to be difficult, not only because of individuals unmoveable opinions but because of the other physical abuse that usually accompanies spanking People who are spanked are negatively
Brendan Smith (2012), focused on the harm and the negative impacts of parents spanking their children. Internationally it is viewed as a violation of children’s rights, and has even been banned in 30 different countries (Smith, 2012). Elizabeth Gershoff, a researcher on physical punishment suggests that physical punishment does not work because you have to make it stronger and harder every time in order to have the kids comply (Smith, 2012). It has been found that children who were physically punished are more likely to believe
Melanie Barwick is a psychologist and health systems scientist in the Community Health Systems Resource Group at SickKids in Toronto, Canada. Barwick has studied the reasons why people choose to spank their children and the emotional effects that the sometimes harsh punishments will leave. In this source, it begins with talking about a new law that Canada is debating on establishing. The law consists of how parents should regulate the spanking age range from two to twelve years old, because that would be considered most “acceptable.” The article then proceeds to delve deeper into the psychological effects of harsh punishment on children and why most people consider it acceptable. Throughout the article there are many questions asked. Before
The authors also identify the known effects of spanking on childhood outcomes. They noted that most of the literature has been concerned with aggressive child outcomes, such as increased child stress reactivity (Bugenthal, Martorell, and Barraza, 2003). They also noted that studies are emerging on the connection between spanking and child cognitive outcomes. (Gershoff, 2010). They criticize these emerging works as suffering from a lack of "…adequate controls for the predictors of spanking, risk factors which themselves could be