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Adrianna Duran
Gail Richard
Composition II 8:00
07 March 2016
Physical Discipline in Children: Spanking
Imagine this, you are a parent in charge of your four year old for the day. It is a beautiful
day out and you decide to go enjoy the day at the park. You get there, your child runs off and you
relax on a bench and read a book, looking up at your child every so often to check on his safety.
You are deep in your novel and suddenly hear a loud cry. You look up frantically and realize it is
not your child, but instead realize that he caused the sobs. You run over and figure he must have
pushed the young child, so you lecture him and tell him he was wrong. You sort out the problem
and go back to reading again, keeping a close eye this time. Time goes by and you hear a cry
again. You have had enough and decide it is time to administer a spanking to your child because
of the fact that he is hurting others. After the spanking you decide it is time to leave the park for
the day. As you pass by a group of parents you hear one murmur, ...that poor child, all he
needed was a scolding... You quickly feel judged and contemplate on whether you took the right
decision.
In recent years, spanking has become a global controversy that has split parents and
pediatricians, fighting to prove their views on the matter (Goode). Parenting is different in
cultures, religions, and even generations and the acceptance of spanking children is different
among them all. Those against spanking have voiced their opinions about it loud and clear and as
a result judge and criticize parents who practice it in their households. This has led to parents
wanting to be their childs friend rather than their parent because they neglect the idea of

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physically disciplining them. This has caused young children to be more rowdy and unruly than
ever before (Navarrette). In a study conducted in 1999, it was found that ninety-four percent of
children ages three to four had been spanked by their parent in the past year, and this number has
since then gone spiraling down in the past decades (Goode). In order for this to cease, parents
should not give too much importance to societys judgments on the matter and note that the
physical force of spanking is a safe tool to discipline young children; it is quick and effective,
promotes respect, and is the safest approach of physical force.
Spanking is defined as one to two hits to a childs bottom by the parents opened hand, in
a controlled environment and when is genuinely necessary (Goode). A spanking should only be
done by the parents hand because if it hurts you, you definitely know that it hurts the child so
you know that it is enough. A spanking is more effective in children ages three to six because at
this age reasoning is not enough because they will not fully understand but after this age period a
different approach to discipline should be used. The best approach to spanking a child is to give
the child a lecture, then administer the spanking, and finally give a reiteration as to why it
occurred (Pingleton). A spanking is not harmful, Dr. Baumrind, an experienced psychologist,
does not recommend spanking however she has concluded from her studies that an occasional
swat, when delivered in the context of good child-rearing, had not been shown to do any harm
(Goode).
Spanking gets a message across quickly and effectively simply because of the small
amount of pain inflicted upon the child which shocks them and in turn brings them down to
reality instead of on the throne they demand to sit on (Jasmine). Going back to the scenario in the
beginning, if the child would have received the spanking from the start the probability of him
repeating the same act again would not be there. The child would have realized that what he did

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was deemed unacceptable by the parent, so a spanking had to be administered. Therefore, the
child understands to not carry out their unkind action again.
Spanking is a tool that helps promote respect for the parent in a young child because the
child sees them as the person in charge (Jasmine). A parents goal is to protect their child and to
mold their child into a good person. With that being said, a child is new at life and will not
always know right from wrong so it is a parents job to be there for them and straighten them out
when they commit things they should not (Pingleton). So a child basically learns to respect,
along with a little fear that is needed to do so, their parent because they keep them from harm
and from them doing wrong (Navarrette). Respect is vital in having healthy relationships with
people, especially with a parent. Respect for authority is something that should be grown upon as
a child ages and matures. Not establishing respect for authority in a childs younger years is not
ideal and can lead to potential problems in their future with family, classmates, coworkers,
bosses, and everyone else in their surroundings including themselves.
Media has helped to portray spanking as a dangerous method of discipline because of all
of the viral videos of child abuse such as the one shown in the ABC News segment Parenting
Techniques: To Spank or Not to Spank?. The video shows a child being hit with a belt multiple
times by his step-father for dropping a baseball, and they show this prior to listening to two
moms give their views on spanking. The news reporter says that the video clearly shows child
abuse but shows this to the audience in a segment about spanking (ABC News). This is not
completely fair because the audience will be stunned from the video and immediately shun the
idea of spanking away. This forms part of the problem; people do not understand that there is a
tremendous difference between child abuse and spanking. Child abuse is the slapping and
beating to a childs body multiple times by an angry out of control parent with foreign objects;

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sometimes mentally as well. It is done by parents who are tired and leash those feelings upon a
child who is not deserving of those acts. Child abuse is harmful and that form of physical
discipline should not be carried out by parents or anyone. A correctly delivered spanking is by far
a better alternative than just letting a child slide by every single time which will ultimately do
away with a parents patience and cause them to take the unfortunate path to child abuse.
Many oppose spanking because they argue that the development of long-lasting negative
effects occurs. Opposers stand firm in their idea that a child will not understand the spanking and
will instead avoid repeating the same act in front of the parent to prevent a future spanking. They
debate that although there is a chance of forming respect, there is also a possibility of instilling
too much fear in the child along with the respect (Jasmine). The idea that spanking a child can
promote antisocial behaviors and undesirable traits causes fear in parents. On the other hand, if a
parent goes about delivering the spanking under the correct guidelines meaning a lecture first
followed by the spanking and then once again a reiteration of why the child received the
spanking, they should have nothing to worry about. Many studies that show a relationship
between spanking and negative effects is because of the child abuse in the studies. When the
child abuse factors are taking away and spanking is left in the study the outcomes show little to
no relationship between spanking and negative effects. The ratios of such negative effects
occurring are slim to none if the spanking is done properly (Goode).
Parents should not give in to the judgments of society. Spankings are quick and effective,
helps in forming respect, and are much safer than child abuse so if parents believe that their child
deserves a spanking they should feel free to administer the spanking. However, parents must
always follow the appropriate guidelines to giving a proper spanking to ensure that their child
does not suffer negative effects from a bad delivered spanking. While spanking a child will hurt a

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parents heart, in the long run it will provide a better outcome not only for the child but for the
world.

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Works Cited
ABC News. Parenting Techniques: To Spank or Not to Spank?. News video clip. Youtube.
Youtube, 5 Jul. 2012. Web. 17 Feb. 2016.
Goode, Erica. Findings Give Some Support To Advocates of Spanking. The New York Times.
The New York Times, 24 Aug. 2001. Web. 17 Feb. 2016.
Jasmine. "Pros and Cons of Spanking Your Child." Parent Advice. Magazine Pro Theme on
Genesis Framework WordPress, 12 Sept. 2015. Web. 24 Mar. 2016.
Navarrette, Ruben. Spanking isnt child abuse; its common sense. CNN. Cable News
Network, 18 Sept. 2014. Web. 17 Feb. 2016.
Pingleton, Jared. Spanking Can Be an Appropriate Form of Child Discipline. Time. Time, 16
Sept. 2014. Web. 19 Feb. 2016.

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