Children and Corporal Punishment: A Survey Discussion of Behavioral and Psychological Effects - Research Paper Example

Children and corporal punishment: A Survey Discussion of Behavioral and Psychological Effects The purpose of the project is to determine the behavioral and psychological effect of corporal and children punishment. All the pivotal effects and impacts of punishment towards children are effectively discussed and analyzed in the project. The data are provided to reveal the number of students and children those are subject to physical punishment. Several survey reports have been considered to determine the impact. The essay has discussed about the long-term and short-term perspectives of corporal punishment. Finally, the study has summarized important facts in the conclusion part. Introduction Corporal and children punishment is done to restrict children from misbehaving by teachers, parents and others.The violence inflicted is faced by majority of the children all over the world.In today’s society, hitting and spanking children is regarded as viciousand morally wrong act. Children often can react violently due to the influence of physical scars created by their parents by hitting and spanking them as public places or at homes. Young children and children who are disabled are often the ones likely to experience corporal punishment. It can be also be defined as the physical pain inflicted as a part of punishment towards children to nullify crime or any bad habits.Corporal punishment in school or at home is completely banned in many European countries. In the 1996, the European Social Charted was revised for the protection of children. The application of corporal and children punishment can lead to several psychological and behavioral effects on children by parents. Corporal and children punishment in school, home or at public laces can lead to increase in aggression in children, increase in antisocial behavior and create direct physical harm to the children. This essay will discuss at optimum level of psychological and behavioral effects on children and corporal punishment. Discussion Corporal and children punishment is the form of punishment which can include beating, branding, blinding, flogging and other physical pain to restrict unbearable behavior and reforming wrongdoer. Corporal punishment can be judicial corporal punishment, school corporal punishment and domestic corporal punishment (Garrett, 2011, p.135). The effects of corporal punishment against children cannot be ignored. In most of the developed nations corporal punishments do not exists (Clauss-Ehlers, 2009, p.266). Despite corporal and children are adopted by some families to restrict their children for doing any unnecessary activity but the negative impact cannot be impact. The negative impact of corporal punishment moves beyond its advantages (Lifshirtz, 2010, p.202). Families often implement corporal and children punishment to teach their children lesson about any wrongdoings. But punishment can hardly teach children lessons as it can influence to violent behaviors from children (Bitensky, 2006, p.9). National surveys reveals that the methods that are used in United States such as pulling ears, shaking, kicking, swatting, pinching, using hair brushes and belts to stop children from doing any unwanted behavior. These methods are applied to the children who are less than 8 years of age (Hunt, 2001, p.109). Another survey show that 35% of the parents agree to implement any one or two strategies to babies who are one year old. For some of the parents the applications of these punishments arecruel which lead them to apply suitable punishment to children which would help to change the mentality and any wrong doings. According the data release in United States, it is been revealed that more than 223,190 students are subject to physical punishment from faculties or teachers in the year 2005-2006 (Tunner, 2006, p.29). The number of students may be huge but from the year 1980 there have been significant drop of punishments by almost 18%. In the year 2005-2006, Texas is one of the state of United States which has maximum number of students struck by education. The number of students who has gone through punishments is 51,170. In case of immediate compliance, corporal punishment is regarded as effective method but for short term. Corporal punishment for long run can create huge danger to the psychological and behavioral part of children and contribute to the negative behavior of children. Some of the pivotal physiological and behavioral effects of corporal punishment are being described. The use of corporal punishment can tends to weaken the trust of bond between children and parents. From birth of child, mother takes care of them by contributing every possible ways of love and affection. By in certain time child may do something wrongdoing or may do which is unacceptable to the mother which tends force parents to implement corporal punishment towards their children. When children are going to pain and punishment which makes them confuse about the ones who love are only hurting them. This eventually can lead to the weakening of bond that is created from birth. Another psychological effect of corporal punishment is creating fear to the child. Corporal punishment can lead to engenders feeling of anger (Donnelly, 2013, p.77). This is the behavioral effect of corporal punishment on children. The large rate of corporal punishment can lead to angry, confused and resentment adults. Children who receive regular punishment can transform their character in to angry mood. When people have coffee regularly then eventually people becomes habituated about the consumption of coffee. Same process goes for children. Studies reveal that frequently spanking the children can make them more intense and anger. Another psychological effect of corporal punishment is lowering the self-esteem of child. The application of punishment towards children can contribute to the weakening of child esteem (Hart & Rollins, 2011, p.231). The corporal punishment by parents can tend to create some sense of perseverance on the mind of children that punishment is meant to be rejection from their parents. Psychologically it can create huge impact on the mind of children. The experience of humiliation from their parents can make children think as rejection. Higher external locus of control is behavioral issue of corporal punishment. Children often cannot control their emotion and other happenings in the life. Children facing corporal punishment can require more confidence and guidance to reduce their stress in life and require extra effort to control their life. Corporal punishment often has the potential for strong escalation. The frequent use of corporal punishment can often lead to the increase of efficiency. The rate of efficiency can increase effectively and can create huge negative impact on children. Escalation is the losing control due to the anger and frustration created by children towards parents. The significant increase of rate of punishment can escalate the efficiency of punishment in to abuse (Covell, 2008, p.52). This can create serious impact physically and mentally on children. Out of 111 interviewed mothers, it has been studied that 40 % of the mothers could possibly increase the rate of punishment by hurting their children. Sometime parents get frustrated by making their children discipline. Children can do some wrong doing which are not acceptable by the mother. The frequent application of the wrongdoing can make parents frustrated and get carried away. The arguable continuum process of the corporal punishment can create strong escalation. Another behavioral effect of corporal punishment is increasing the use of violence. The spanking makes children to believe that it is always the stronger person who hurts and tries to use force against the weaker person. This creates message that violence is the only viable option to solve problems. The message created can create many children who have gone throughcorporal punishment can change their nature in to violent. This can be harmful for society and future life of the children. Corporal punishment can also lead to increase in more behavioral problems (Staples & Cochran, 2007, p.159). Evidence found out that the frequent punishment on children can lead to higher level of anti-social behaviors. It has been observed between children from age group 2 to 4 years. Between these years frequent punishment creates increase in rate of behavioral problems. Anti-social behaviors such as hitting other fellow children in the school without any reason or hitting siblings and not following parents rule. In the case of long-run, it can create huge negative impact on children as they can increase defiance and misbehavior. Corporal punishment by parents can possibly enable children to imitate the punishment in to other people by hitting them. Eventually sometimes children can punish their own parents for the act of corporal punishment and can lose the opportunity to be Peace and disciplined. Children can lose their freedom and dignity (Daly, 2007, p.56). It can also lead to many adult problems such as depression, anxiety, alcohol abuse and other many external adult problems. Another psychological effect is it makes children to neglect the moral value. Parents spank their children regularly can make children to lie or cheat and be disobedient at schools and any places. Corporal and children punishment can often affect the cognitive function of child. Research have studied and found out that when child are often spanked which makes them to score lower in the later four year of IQ test. Finally it can hinder success in life of children. Violent inmates and spanking can lead to increase in rate of high school, college dropouts. Psychological and behavioral effects of children and corporal punishment are mental, misconceptions, legal and psychical. Positive psychological and behavioral effect of children punishment teaches discipline, enables children to know about right and wrong. Corporal punishment by parents of teachers in classroom can confuse children about the reason behind the displeasure. Children in the classroom can often be notorious and does not realize the right and wrong decision. Teacher use corporal punishment to make children disciplined. But the physical punishments can even teach children about the dominance of adults over children (Couchenour & Chrisman, 2013, p.186). This can create huge rate of anger and violent among the children who are now adults. Another psychological effect of children punishment is serious physical injuries. Person administering their child can often spank children harder then they want to. This creates serious injuries such as broken arms, nerve damage and muscle damage. Parents often become hot tempered and can spank children to make their children disciplined but it can eventually lead to many serious injuries. Children punishment has become a global issue for every country which made them to initiate a Global End Corporate punishment. This initiative was launched in the year 2010. Reports suggest that 29 countries has been make corporal and children punishment as illegal it can be for parents, teachers or any other superior senior member. All of the industrialized countries have banned the application of children and corporal punishment in schools (Bitensky, 2006, p.282). Some other behavioral effect of children punishment is that regardless of the consequences, punishment can help to be disciplined in life. There are some families who are too much permissive and same DNA flows in their children. It is responsibility of teachers to maintain disciplined in class and make every children in the classroom disciplined. The acts which are influenced at homes are all implemented by children in classroom. This is mainly due to the fact that children do not know the consequences of the bad actions done by them. Corporal and children punishment can make children realize about the consequences of the wrong doings. Another behavioral effect of children punishment is that it can help students or children at homes to deter from bad behavior. Due to the unpleasant nature of punishment implemented by teachers would result in deter of misbehaving for the fear of further punishment (Breen, 2006, p.83). The fear of further punishment can make children to complete their home work quickly and it can eventually relieve parents to not to leave their work for children. It teaches best possible path that to apply in life to be successful and good human being. The judgment of children to neglect wrong thinks can help to increase their decision power. Positive behavioral effect of children and corporal punishment can help to focus their mind on studies and know about the difference between right and wrong. Conclusion This can be concluded that the physiological and behavioral effects of corporal and children punishment are immense. It has become a common method of punishment for parents and teachers in schools. The infliction of pain and spanking by teachers and parent on children or any other person body for an act as punishment for crime is corporal punishment. Children and corporal punishments include beating, blinding, spanking, mutilation and branding. Some pivotal psychological and behavioral effect are weakening of trust and bond between parents and children, lowering the self-esteem, creates fear, more violent, introduction of more behavioral problems and linked with many types of problems that are associated with adults. It is evident from the fact that corporal and children punishment is harmful to children, societies and adults. The positive benefits of the punishment are fewer and harmful than that of negative benefits. It is vital for every country to protect the right of children and education by implementing law to eliminate corporal punishment to children. References Bitensky, S. (2006). Corporal Punishment of Children. New York: McGraw-Hill. Bitensky, S. (2006). Corporal Punishment of Children. New York: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. Breen, C. (2006). Age Discriminations and Children’s Rights. Stamford: Cengage Learning. Clauss-Ehlers, C. (2009). Encyclopedia of Cross-Cultural School Psychology. New York: Springer. Couchenour, D., & Chrisman, K. (2013). Families, Schools, and Communities. Stamford: Cengage Learning. Covell, K. (2008). Children, Families and Violence. London: Kogan Page. Daly, M. (2007). Parenting in Contemporary Europe: A Positive Approach. London: Council of Europe. Donnelly, M. (2013). Corporal Punishment of Children in Theoretical Perspective. New York: Springer. Garrett, J. (2011). How to be a #10 parent. New York: AuthorHouse. Hart, R., & Rollins, J. (2011). Therapeutic Activities for Children and Teens Coping with Health issues. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Lifshirtz, B. (2010). The Jewish Law Annual Bolume 18. New York: Taylor & Francis. Staples, R., & Cochran, M. (2007). Early Childhood Education. New York: Greenwood Publishing. Tunner, S. (2006). Something to Cry about. London: Sage. Read More