The Rise of Child Punishment - Coursework Example

Spanking as Punishment or Child Abuse In today’s society, spanking draws a good bit of controversy. In days of old, spanking was a routine part of parenting and discipline. Unfortunately however, child abuse is on the rise. In addition, a growing number of experts have different things to day about spanking. The purpose of this paper is to discus the on going controversy of spanking and whether it is appropriate discipline or borderline child abuse. Anyone who has experienced parenting a young child or toddler with a behavioral problem, or just the terrible twos, knows that finding an affective means of discipline is never easy. The grey area involved in spanking comes into play when deciding at what point spanking is actually no longer spanking but hitting or beating. Also, at what point is a spanking deemed necessary and appropriate. Statistically speaking, “more than 4 out of 5 American adults, who were spanked as children, felt that it was an effective form of discipline. (Spare the Rod, 2008) This statistic however, leaves room for the one out of five who felt that spanking was not effective or that it was a form of abuse. Many parents feel that the only affective means of discipline is in fact, spanking. Essentially, spanking is a physical way to let the child know that their actions are not acceptable. Children rely on their parents for protection, comfort, love and basic needs. When a child is being corrected by a parent and is then spanked, the level of praise or acceptance a child normally feels is diminished and there is then a threat of losing the acceptance that the child felt before the punishment. Still other parents and many experts are overtly opposed to spankings as they feel that any type of physical punishment is abusive. Certainly, a fine line exists between an appropriate disciplinary spanking and abuse, but a good parent can make that distinction. Many critics feel that spanking leads to adult dysfunction, but are unable to distinguish between appropriate and controlled spanking as loving discipline as opposed to hitting or punishing out of anger. It can be said that punishment of any form out of anger is in fact, abuse as opposed to discipline, which should be done out of love. It has been argued by some within many faiths, that parents that do not use spanking as a form or correction are doing a disservice to their children and to God. According to Christians, God’s law prescribes that corporal punishment is the appropriate form of punishment that parents should use. Many Christians feel that they are sinning if they do not correct their children according to God’s law which instructs that corporal punishment is imperative. The moral argument that is posed is that spanking teaches kids that it is ok to hit. Some people think that with violence on the rise in America, spanking only contributes to the on going problem. While it stands to reason that spanking is a form of active violence, it is subject to criticism based on how it is administered. It is also arguable however, that if a child is spanked in a proper and loving context, it is not necessarily an active form of violence any more than a hug is. Christians may argue that to “spare the rod is to spoil the child”. Some people may argue that leaving marks of any kind is what constitutes abuse. Ultimately, when children are spanked as an anger response, the act of being spanked can become a message of acting out in anger on the parent’s part and not a punishment method at all. Another aspect of arguments between critics and parents is the age of the child being spanked. It seems to be deemed more appropriate to conduct light spanking on toddlers as opposed to spanking a preteen or youth. Also, the question of corporal punishment is a relatively large issue within critical circles. If spanking takes place, many critics will argue that it should only be used when other non physical form of discipline are ineffective and in absence of anger on the punishing parent’s part. During a study conducted at Iowa State University, it was found that favorable outcomes in child raising did not correlate to whether parents used corporal punishment or not but only to the actual quality of their parenting.(Spare the Rod, 2008)” Remarkably, childhood aggressiveness has been more closely linked to maternal permissiveness and negative criticism than to even abusive physical discipline”(Spare the Rod). Another side of things is what to do with particularly difficult or misbehaved children. The importance of discipline and consistency with that discipline is immeasurable. Children that are allowed to run free with no boundaries are often just as troubled as children that are overly disciplined. The key to finding the balance however, comes with a specific and decided form of punishment and consistency with the implementing of that punishment, when necessary. An Assemblywoman in California, Sally Lieber has introduced a bill making public displays of spanking one’s child a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine. This makes California the only state to have such a law, but more are expected to follow. Similar laws exist in Austria, Germany and Sweden. The same type of law, making physical discipline of a child illegal, also exists in Finland. (Clayton, 2007) Dana Baumrind has the following to say of spanking as discipline, “Education, not legislation, is the method of choice to improve parenting practices, with the exception of clearly abusive practices,” says Diana Baumrind, a research psychologist at the University of California at Berkeley. Baumrind is one of the few experts who has been dubbed “pro-spanking” in the media” (Clayton, 2007). Many feel that a parent’s choice of discipline (within reason) is something that should be left to the parent’s to decide. The question is often where the line should be drawn between family issues and the government’s jurisdiction or lack thereof in those matters. Reiterating the idea that spanking is a form of discipline embraced by different denominations within Bible based faiths, many feel that a parent’s choice to spank is not only a right that parents have but also a Biblical obligation. One example of scripture that is used by religious individuals to defend the act of spanking for discipline is as follows, “Discipline your children while there is hope. If you dont you will ruin their lives" (Proverbs 19:18, NLT(Christian Parenting, 2008). One Bible based idea of spanking is as follows, “How effective is spanking as discipline for children? The Scriptures do not give parents permission or a command to yell at or hit a child. Hitting is an uncontrolled emotional response. Spanking is a calm application of discipline that is appropriate to a specific behavior”(Christian Parenting, 2008). There are alternatives to spanking as punishment. These alternatives include time outs proportional to the child’s age, grounding or restriction from privileges, the demerit system and reward systems. Some parents may choose to focus on rewarding good behavior as a means of compelling their child to not act up. As children reach their teen years, grounding and restriction is often affective. This includes limiting or eliminating use of television, computers, telephone use and vehicle use for a specific period of time. An expert on family Psychology, Elizabeth Kandal explains that most studies find linkage between physical forms of punishment and aggressive behavior in children, “An examination of the literature reveals that most studies are supportive of a relationship between physical punishment and aggression. Further, prospective studies suggest that physical punishment may contribute etiologically towards the development of aggressive behavior” (Kandal, 1992). Furthermore, Kandal’s research shows that often times, the use of physical punishment is linked to lack of positive communication between parents and children as well as a lack of positive reinforcement from on the parents’ part toward their children. This study also points out that violence related deaths are the leading cause of death in young black males and injuries from violence are the leading cause of injuries to women (Kandal, 1992). These types of violence related deaths could be on the rise due to adults having been exposed to violence or abuse as children, and then act accordingly as adults ” One childrearing experience which has been an important focus has been childrens exposure to parental physical aggression. Such aggression is commonly conceived as existing on a continuum, ranging from very severe parental aggression (i.e., child abuse) to much milder and normative parental aggression, such as use of corporal or physical punishment”(Kandal, 1992). Kandal’s study also points out that almost all parents in America have resorted to some form of physical punishment at one point or another during the raising of their children. This can be interpreted that most parents feel that spanking is appropriate as punishment in some instance or another, but can be resorted to as an option. The following statistics assembled by Barbara Meltz of the Boston Globe, indicates the prevalence of spanking in America, “68 percent of American parents think spanking is not only good but essential to child rearing; 90 percent of parents spank their toddlers at least three times a week; two-thirds spank them once a day; One in four parents begin to spank when their child is 6 months old, 50 percent when their child is 12 months old; 52 percent of 13- and 14-year-olds get spanked; 20 percent of high school seniors do”(Meltz, 1995). These statistics indicate that not only do most Americans agree with spanking, but also do so with their own children. Unfortunately, spanking is an effective method of punishment. It is effective because essentially, no one wants to be hit or slapped including small children. This is a fundamental and primary human aversion that develops early if children are spanked at young ages. If a child knows they will be spanked when misbehaving, the probability of them misbehaving goes down. However, there are certainly other forms of punishment that are just as effective as spanking. It can be concluded that spanking poses too much of a grey area in discipline as the question will always remain, when and how to spank. The limits of spanking are certainly necessary but are not clearly defined by even the experts. It may be too difficult for many parents to spank but not in a spirit of anger. Therefore, as a rule for parents to follow, not spanking at all for any reason would be a healthy and reasonable choice to make and stick with. It is important to remember how much children rely on their parents for survival, love and support, “Children come into this world helpless and unable to thrive without us. Our job is to love and nurture them and to teach them how to live. Discipline means ‘to teach and train’. We need to be good disciplinarians, to acquire skills that will accomplish the goal we set for ourselves - that of helping the child learn to control and set standards for himself”(Kersey, 2008). Corporal Punishment will continue to be a controversial topic between family health critics and those that embrace the concept of spanking due to Biblical Direction. The important thing to remember is that first and foremost should be the safety and nurturing of the child needing discipline. If forms of punishment that do not involve physical punishment are ineffective, then a family therapist or physician may need to be contacted in order to get to the root of why the child is acting out. Works Cited: Clayton, Victoria. (February 12, 2007) Discipline Debate, Spanking Gets a Timeout, MSNBC Contributor, retrieved May 3, 2008 from website at: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16929303/ EPOCH, Hitting People is Wrong and Children are People Too, EPOCH and Physical Punishment of Children Organization, retrieved May2, 2008 from website at: http://www.neverhitachild.org/hitting1.html Kandal, Elizabeth. (1992) Physical Punishment and the Development of Aggressive Behavior: A Review, University of New Hampshire Kersey, Katharine. Don’t Take it out on your Kids: AParent’s and Teacher’s Guide to Positive Discipline, retrieved May2, 2008 from website at: http://www.neverhitachild.org/dontake1.html Spanking as a Discipline for Children, Christian Parenting, (2008) retrieved May 2, 2008 from website at: http://www.allaboutparenting.org/spanking-as-a-discipline-for-children-faq.htm Meltz, Barbara. (April 27, 1995) The Unsparing Rod, The Boston Globe Mohler, Albert. (2004) Should Spanking Be Banned? Parental Authority Under Assault retrieved May 2, 2008 from website at: http://www.albertmohler.com/commentary_read.php?cdate=2004-06-22 Straus, Murray. Mather, Anita. (1995) Social Change and Trends in Approval of Corporal Punishment by Parents from 1968-1994, University of New Hampshire Spare the Rod, New Research Challenges Spanking Critics retrieved May 30, 2008 from website at: http://faculty.biola.edu/paulp/spare_the_rod.htm Read More