The Punishment of Children - Essay Example

Positive approaches of child discipline should be encouraged among parent and even teachers in schools. Praising of a child’s good behavior will help in reinforcing positive behavior (Hardy, and Heyes, 47). Time outs are an effective way of disciplining since the child gets time to calm down and reflect on his or her behavior. Loss of privileges helps in disciplining a child since behavior will be modified positively among children for the fear of losing various privileges. There is a debate on whether punishment should be applied to children and type of punishment that is effective in changing behavior.

There are people who argue that punishment of children should be encouraged. These people believe that issuing a punishment to a child will help in the disciplining of unruly child. Corporal punishments produced more civilized individuals who respected their elders since these children could not apply foul language when addressing their elders (Smith, Cowie, and Blades 51). The punishment served to scare the children on the consequences of using bad language. The proponents of corporal punishment among the children argue that in the olden times when corporal punishment was the routine of the day, using a bad language did not cross the minds of the children.

The proponents try to compare the olden times and the present times where corporal punishment is being discouraged children are very unruly and that bad language is the order of the day. On ethical grounds, the proponents of child punishment argue that punishing a child can indeed help in saving the child’s future. In the past, the rate at which young people were arrested for their bad behavior was low unlike the present times where many children are being taken to prison and rehabilitation centers for their bad behavior like drug abuse.

Many parents do not want to abandon corporal punishment they subject to their children because they believe that it is a God’s command that children should be given a few strokes of the rod (Smith, Cowie, and Blades 56). There are opponents of corporal punishment to children especially these punishments have pronounced negative impacts on the lives of the children. Statistics shows that a corporal punishment lowers the children’s intelligence quotient (IQ). A study carried out in the United States shows that subjecting children to corporal punishments lowered their intellectual development and creativity.

Corporal punishments makes a child develop fight back response system which greatly hampers a child’s creativity and imagination. Corporal punishments only serve to create an anti-social behavior and enhance violence in the society. Children who are exposed to corporal punishments develop a low self esteem since punishments strengthen a notion where the children will always view themselves as failures. Children tend to develop a rebellious behavior and develop some acts of violence as a method of self defense (Naz, et al 14).

Hardy and Heyes (52) argue that corporal punishments can cause physical damage in extreme cases where the punishment of children is termed as child abuse. The physical damage that arises from corporal punishment can be horrifying. Children suffer from broken limbs, internal hemorrhage, and the destruction of the sciatic nerves thus affecting the legs. The physical abuse of children causes unending psychological suffering and despair in life. The children can opt for bad