Corporal Punishment And How It Affects A Child's Life

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.

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.

Is corporal punishment wrong or is it a vital tool for disciplining our children which without our society will ultimately continue to degrade its self and cause our fore fathers to roll over in their graves? Corporal punishment with in reason is not abuse and should be considered a vital tool that is not out dated and should be used widely and constantly through out the previous and upcoming generations of man kind. Today with the mostly discontinued use of corporal punishment and generic discipline our children are becoming less disciplined, more disrespectful, and growing in their “boldness.”

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

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).

“The Committee on the Rights of the Child in the General Comment No. 8 defines corporal punishment as, “any punishment in which physical force is used and intended to cause some degree of pain or discomfort, however light. Most involves hitting (“smacking”, “slapping”, “spanking”) children, with the hand or with an implement” (unicef website). Corporal punishment has been used in schools as a method of discipline and as a form of punishment for committing a crime. Some people will say that corporal punishment is no different from physical abuse, because your intending to cause some degree of pain or discomfort. However from my personal experience I went to an elementary school where they were allowed to spank the children as long as the child’s parents had signed an approval form. So needless to say if I ever got sent down to the principles officer for acting out or being bad my parents gave the principle permission to spank me. I believe that there is a difference between corporal punishment and physical abuse. Corporal punishment is a method of disciplining a child or person for acting out or for committing a crime, whereas physical abuse is causing nonaccidnetal physical injury for no apparent reason. My parents raised me to know that if I did something bad I was bound to get a “butt whooping” so I knew that if I did the same thing

In 2013, Adrian Peterson, a Minnesota Vikings running back, faced felony charges and indicted by a jury with reckless injury of a child (Goessling). This incident sparked controversy on the topic of where the line is drawn between discipline and abuse. Oxford dictionary defines corporal punishment as: “physical punishment, such as caning or flogging.” On one hand, many parents argue that spanking or other corporal punishments are not abusive because it teaches respect and consequences for bad behavior. However, on the other hand, others maintain that spanking and other corporal punishments are harmful because it does not teach respect but instead inspires fear in the child and does not effectively teach them what they did wrong or what they did to deserve such punishment. Seeing both sides of the argument, I argue that the line between abuse and discipline is crossed when the punishment causes damage to the child, whether physical or psychological. I would go on to argue that spanking and other corporal punishments are not ideal because it does not show the child what he or she did wrong, can escalate into harsher punishment and borderline abuse, and has been shown to not be effective and can actually cause more behavioral problems in children.

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,

One global subject of controversy is the use of corporal punishment – punishment inflicted on a child’s body by an adult in authority (The Merriam-Webster Dictionary, 2005). Although it is a global topic of debate, many cultures find their citizens disagreeing among themselves. In a 2016 study, Anthony Ngo examined the effects of parents using corporal punishment. The 2016 sample consisted of 100 Chinese families that immigrated to the United States, and it was found that over 80% of them used corporal punishment and thought it was a fair way of disciplining their child. As for why they were using corporal punishment, many parents cited the feeling of stress as immigrants, changes in social status, and a lack of language proficiency as contributing

A physical punishment, or in other words physical discipline, inflicted by adult partakers aimed to impose physical pain on minors. Minors are persons under a specific age, generally under the age of majority, the age of adulthood, that is standardized or stated by law. For example, in Ontario, Canada, the age of majority is set at 18, but in other Canadian provinces and territories the age of majority differs. Corporal punishment can be inflicted by partakers in home, schools or other locations to reinforce discipline. There are many ways in which corporal punishments can be inflicted by such as spanking the buttocks of a minor with bare hands, or with sharp objects, flogging, whipping, beating, etc.

Corporal punishment is a widely debated and hot button issue. Whatever one's beliefs are on the subject, science has shown that corporal punishment does not work and has many negative consequences.

Corporal punishment in these days has been becoming a topic in many old timers talks. Many believe that it helps and is definitely the way to go. The older generations still seem to believe that society would be better off if kids still got punished the way they did. They refuse to ignore data that has not supported the clams they bring up about making children better behaved or as they call it “Straightening them up”. Many believe that our liberal democracy population has views that are not valid and that the old ways need to come back to help us grow.

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

“You’re going to get it when we get home!” “Stop It, Right Now!” “Sit in the Time-Out Chair for 10 minutes until you can behave!” These are all phrases that have been used by parents whether they believe in corporal punishment or non-corporal punishment. Children have ways of pushing their parent’s buttons whether it is verbally or by things that they do or do not do when they are told. Parents then become frustrated, angry, exasperated, or even embarrassed and begin to administer some type of discipline to correct the behavior. The correction, many times, is dependent upon the location of the bad behavior, for instance, whether it is at home or in a public setting. Is a parent spanking their child wrong whether it is at home or in public? Will it cause developmental or psychological issues? Is there a difference in spanking and beating or are both forms child abuse? Is spanking more effective for children of certain ages? Controversy abounds regarding the use of corporal punishment by a parent as a means of disciplining a child. Comparing the differences in corporal punishment versus non-corporal punishment will allow each parent to decide which will work best for their family. After analyzing key components of both punishments, corporal punishment has been effective for many years, and when used correctly, can still be very beneficial to families today.