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Children and spanking

Introduction

The issue of disciplining kids is one that goes back centuries or even millennia, but for

the last few decades, the matter of what way is best to discipline children, has raised intense

arguments and motions. Corporal punishment is an infliction of pain as punishment for

wrongdoing and unacceptable behavior by an adult, usually a parent or a teacher. Some adults

have always rushed to use corporal punishment on their kids for errant behaviors. This approach

is brutal, authoritarian and a very painful way of administering discipline. With the evolution of

society, there has been developed better and more diplomatic contemporary means of

encouraging good behavior and punishing indiscipline. The main question surrounding the issue

of spanking of children is whether the infliction of physical pain is a justifiable in the context of

disciplining the young. I personally believe that parents and teachers are the greatest role models

in their early stages of development. It is therefore important that these adults teach the kids that

there are better ways of addressing differences or correcting mistakes, besides violence.

First, administration or use of corporal punishments has ills associated with it. For

example, some young parents have no patience to teach their young ones. They rush to spank

their kids and use it as a quick fix or solution, and this is especially the case when they are
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dealing with preschoolers or unruly toddlers, or sometimes when they are going through rough

times or have some personal issues or stress. Some spanking may happen because both the parent

and the kid are out of control (Slade 11). For instance, it is that aggressive child, who upsets the

parent, who is always being spanked. Similarly, it is that parent with poor self-control, who is

always spanking their kid. Parenting is not an easy task, and especially so when the kids are

young. It is very crucial that parents exercise a great deal of caution and patience when they are

dealing with them, educating them or even correcting them. According to some researches,

children tend to imitate their parents and it is more likely the parents pass that habit of poor self-

control to their children hence this habit of spanking keeps on being passed on from parent to the

children and to the childrens children.

The other fact is, after kids realize that their parent spanks them, they lapse to worse and

conniving behaviors like lying or framing others for mistakes, they have done. Some people have

compared the use of corporal punishment to opening the philosophical Pandoras Box. This is

based on the fact that once a parent or teacher uses it, it is a leap into the unknown and the

outcomes may be different. The outcome of spanking differs from kid to another. It may have

positive outcome in some children while it may bring out violence and a lot of resentment in

others (OCallaghan 145). Researchers are still carrying out studies to determine the

consequence of its application, although most of them tend to discourage its administration or

application. Corporal punishments is therefore never to be tolerated or preferred as a mean of

instilling discipline or encouraging good conduct. It is considerably extreme and aggressive in

comparison to the other alternatives.

Besides the prevailing popular opinion that spanking is a way or mean of instilling

discipline, there might be many more factors that prompt the use of corporal punishments.
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Economic factors one of them. For instance, in families with low income, incidences of spanking

are more often than in those with a higher income. This may be due to the logic that they are not

in a position to afford other means like therapy or guidance and counseling by a professional.

Families with considerably better income have higher disposable income and could therefore

afford the high rates charged for counseling and therapy sessions. In families with lower

incomes, the parents may not be well informed and they therefore tend to have a fixation on

spanking, as the only way they know how to discipline their children (Slade 10). Geographical

location is another factor that may lead parents to spank their children. People from Asia, Latin

America and Africa have cultures that have accepted spanking as a way of disciplining their

young ones. Some Asian and African cultures have generally accepted spanking as the most

acceptable way of instilling discipline and encouraging good behavior. Religion is another major

factor. Parents who are more fundamentalist in their religious beliefs tend to apply corporal

punishments more than their counterparts who are not. This would therefore mean that parents

who are more fanatical about or indoctrinated by religion would find spanking a more justifiable

and effective way of instilling discipline.

Corporal punishment traumatizes young children. Columbia University psychologists,

Elizabeth Thompson Gershoff, PhD, of the National Center for Children in Poverty conducted a

meta-analysis on the effects of corporal punishment on young children, which proves otherwise.

In her study, Thompson found out strong association between corporal punishment and all eleven

child behaviors and experiences. Ten of the eleven associations were negative such as with

increased child aggression and antisocial behaviors. The single desirable association was

between corporal punishment and increased immediate compliance on the party of the child

(APA). Although her were refuted by researchers, Diana Baumrind, PhD (University of
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California at Berkeley), Philip Cowan, PhD (University of California at Berkeley), and Robert E.

Lazerlere, PhD (Nebraska Medical Center), who concluded that the findings in Gershoff meta-

analysis included episodes of extreme and excessive physical punishment and her findings were

therefore not an evaluation of normative corporal punishment. Other researchers have also found

results similar to those of Gershoff. This further goes to show the unthinkable ills associated with

this approach to discipline.

In addition, it is important to recognize that spanking creates discords in families. When a

parent spanks their kid, the kid develops fear of the parent and feels rejected. The kid may

therefore alienate his or her parent and might be less likely to listen to their parent in the future.

The kids will tend to want to spend less and less time at home. Some may even escape from

home. In developed worlds, the kid may even file a suit against their parent or seek emancipation

at early ages (OCallaghan 146). This denies the parent the chance to teach and bring up the kids

well. Once a parent decides to spank their kid, a rift is created that never completely seals or

heals because the kid will always feel hated. This further goes to prove that there is no point in

using violence to instill discipline.

However, parents and other people in favor of spanking have argued that contemporary

means of encouraging discipline like counseling, oral and written reprimands, guidance and

counseling, withholding toys and other sources of entertainment like play stations, detention and

grounding and other diplomatic approaches have proven to be way less effective than corporal

punishment. They have based this argument on the fact that these methods are not parallel with

the needs of young children (OCallaghan 143). By these means, the child being punished may

not really fathom or comprehend why he or she is undergoing the disciplinary process. This is
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unlike the case in corporal punishment, where when the kid is spanked automatically associates

the pain with indiscipline or wrongdoing.

Moreover, people in support of spanking argue that although spanking may sound brutal,

authoritarian and very painful, it has existed for reasons better than just scaring or emphasizing

superiority. Corporal punishment has existed for purposes of improving on discipline, good

conduct and overall welfare. Contrary to the popular opinion or assumption, it does not foster

resentment. This is because it is utterly and distinctively different from child abuse and is the

most suitable and effective way of instilling discipline and understanding amongst young unruly

school going children (APA). This teaches them the concept of consequence from an early age.

Spanking addresses the qualities of a typical kid proving other means as less effective. Some kids

may tend express aggression from an early age and fight with others, contemporary means or

diplomatic approaches of disciplining will not necessarily work on such a kid but spanking them

will.

Contrary to the argument of the people against corporal punishment that it may foster

tendencies of violence and sometimes even physical injuries, corporal punishment has proven

otherwise in some situations. In fact, it is only in abusive corporal punishment where physical

injuries may be incurred. This is because spanking is only meant to bring by an understanding

and not inculcate actions of violence. Spanking is not in any way a massive and unreasonable use

of violence, it is designed to punish specific acts of misbehavior or significant delinquency

(McCauley). Parents or teachers administering corporal punishment are not supposed to use it as

an automatic response but as a last option. For example, in an instance where even after multiple

reprimands the child or student persists with their delinquency and unruly behavior, then it is fair

to administer it. This therefore goes to show that spanking is entirely different from child abuse
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which is unjustified and unreasoned beating of a child (McCauley). From this reason, it is clear

to see that administration of corporal punishments is by far effective than other contemporary

means of disciplining a child.

Although the people opposed to the administration of corporal punishment may argue

that instead of instilling or promoting discipline it provokes resentment and further misdemeanor

and delinquency, researchers have revealed that decades and centuries of whipping young

children has produced more civilized young people. A proper example in this incident would be

the American occupation in the Philippines, where corporal punishment was used on students

who disobeyed school rules. The English only rule especially, produced young disciplined

Filipino students that were not only academically competent but also multi lingual too. The

infliction of physical pain, be it by spanking, whipping or otherwise, is associated to wrongdoing

by the punished child, who is henceforth able to recognize that it was his or her own wrong

doing that lead them to be punished and should therefore not be repeated (Benatar). Nowadays,

with the prohibition of corporal punishment under the law, misdemeanor and delinquency has

been on the rise in Philippine schools. All this goes to prove how corporal punishment works

better than other alternatives.

Conclusion

Besides the argument in the last four points that have argued in favor of, spanking to me ,

still remains archaic and a barbaric method of instilling discipline and encouraging good

behavior. It is important that parents teach their kids of better approaches to matters like use of

diplomacy and understanding, sometimes kids will be illogical and errant in their behavior
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sometimes but most of these times all they require is guidance and wise counsel of the adults.

There is no one way that could be said to be suitable in all circumstances and it is therefore

important that parents be logical and sane when deciding the best way to address indiscipline or

bad behavior.
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Works Cited
APA. Is Corporal Punishment an Effective Means of Discipline?, 2002,
http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2002/06/spanking.aspx. Accesed 11 April 2017.

Benatar, D. Corporal Punishment Social Theory and Practice, 1998,

http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-53258058.html. Accessed 11 April 2017.

McCauley, L. The Developmental Assessment of Young Children, n.d,

http://priory.com/psych/assessyoung.htm#char Accessed 11 April 2017.

O'Callaghan, Kitty. "Is it okay to spank?" Parenting,vol. 20, no. 7, 2006, pp. 142-147.

Slade, E. "Spanking in early childhood and later behavior problems." Pediatrics for Parents,vol.
22, no. 5, 2005, pp. 10-11.

Williams, W. Making a Cause for Corporal Punishment, 1999,

http://debatepedia.idebate.org/en/index.php/Debate:_Corporal_punishment_of_children
Accessed 11 April 2017.