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Corporal punishment: An effective means of discipline? Corporal punishment has been the focus of considerable study over the past decade. The idea of punishment is intimately related to human conceptions of childhood and education. Some recent research has suggested that the use of corporal punishment may have significant long-term negative effects on children has prompted increasing exploration and interest in the issue. On the other hand, among parents and teachers who used corporal punishment found that theuse of corporal punishment may be better understood as part of a constellation of behaviors. Is corporal punishment an effective form of discipline? Is it appropriate that we, as professionals dedicated to the welfare of children, can condone the use of corporal punishment, however mild, as a form of education of children? The ultimate goal of formal education is attempted to be met by making discipline the centre of all school activities. Learning to concentrate, perform in examinations and behave in desirable ways are the key means of achieving this goal. South Korean parents support the use of corporal punishment. South Korea's rapid economic growth is attributed to its education system. Korean mothers traditionally oversee childrens education, seeing that homework is done, and allowing corporal punishment. Corporal punishment is quite common in Korea. The Korean Protection Agency has reported that all but 3% of the Korean children it surveyed have experienced corporal punishment.(Beckham, 1997). From the statement above, it shows that the corporal punishment is an oft-used mechanism to discipline children in certain countries. Many educators support the old notion of spare the rod and spoil the child. They believe that a well discipline child tends to perform better in academic learning. As a result, they advocate paddling as a method of disciplining children in school. This reinforces the importance of early training in forming a person's lifelong character.Besides, some parents believe that corporal punishment is the best method to correct a child's unacceptable behavior and/or inappropriate language and directly set an example for others. Consequently, it will be able to change the child's behaviors and to make it more consistent with the adult's expectations. However, we shouldnt overlook the negative impacts of using corporal punishment. Sometimes parents think that slapping a childs hand, spanking her bottom or hitting her with a switch will teach her an important lesson.

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Actually,what physical punishment teaches children is that they should fear their parents, rather than trusting them to help and to teach their home is an unsafe place for learning and exploration. Parents who use frequent punishment have more behavior problems with their children, whereas using less discipline is related to having fewer behavior problems. Interaction theory in parenting focuses on how the behavior of children is affected by the actions of their parents and vice versa. Brenner (1998). As found in the Brenner research, parents need to think about what they want to teach their children in the long term. If they want to teach them to be non-violent, they must show them how to be non-violent. Parents should think about the effects that being hit have on adults. When we are hit, we feel humiliated. We dont feel motivated to please the person who has hit us; we feel resentment and fear. We might even feel like getting even. Hitting children harms parents relationships with children and it doesnt increase their respect for parents. Everyone needs discipline, particularly self-discipline. But corporal punishment rarely motivates children to act differently. The fact that those parents, teachers and others have to repeat corporal punishment for the same misbehaviour by the same child testifies to its ineffectiveness. Corporal punishment emphatically teaches only what not to do. The punishment ceases when the pain stops hurting. Therefore, no way is easily available to see to it that the child is performing a desirable behavior when the punishment ceases.(Vockell,1977). The statement above shows that corporal punishment also sends the wrong message to children. Spanking communicates that hitting is an acceptable way to solve problems, and that it is all right for a big person to strike a smaller one.In addition, when children are spanked, they may know that they have done something wrong. However in many cases, they are too young to understand the lesson. Finally, when spanking is the primary discipline method used, it may have some potential harmful long-term effects such as increasing the chances of misbehavior, aggression, violent or criminal behavior, impaired learning, and depression. The sky does not fall if children cannot behit.Therefore modeling and exhibiting behavioral standards necessarily depends on adults. Nurturing a childs behaviour is like growing a fruit. Its quality depends on the inputs. In

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nurturing a child these inputs are love, tolerance, motivation and encouragement coupled with ease of pace to learn or perform. In a nutshell, discipline is about changing behaviours, not about punishing children. Discipline should allow children to develop self-disciplines, and helps them become emotionally and socially mature adults. Special attention should be given to the childs age, level of development and temperament when giving advice on effective means of discipline. It is essential to emphasize to parents the importance of being consistent and being a good role model. In my opinion, whether corporal punishment is an effective way to discipline children, it is an individuals subjective opinion depending on the cultural differences.The most important thing is parents must draw a clear boundary line between corporal punishment and abuse. However, there are many other effective techniques which can help parents to teach and guide their children, and some forms of disciplines will always remain controversial. Corporal punishment should be the last resort and it must be done carefully without violence!