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Nicole Picard

The discipline of children throughout history has varied greatly. We have come just about full circle and are at a standstill as a society. Do we spank our children or simply use timeout and speak softly to not hinder a childs emotional development? To what extent is spanking available, and who gets to decide the degree of force used when spanking? These are all very valid questions and all pretty much rhetorical because in the long run we, as a society, have no say in the matter. It takes one person taking spanking to the extreme to make it illegal to use any form of physical punishment when disciplining children. Control is the most important part of parenting and discipline. These days, children have a lot more control than they ever have in history. A child can say no without consequence. A child can do and say as they please and society turns their heads and walks away saying that its the parents fault when in fact it is the law that has created such disrespectful, misbehaved children. When did it become wrong to slap a childs hand when they play with an electrical outlet? When did it become wrong to embarrass a child who steals by having them hold up a sign saying Im a thief? What is this world coming to? We are so scared to teach our children right from wrong because of societal norms that we are allowing our children to run amuck. Is there really that significant of a difference between the number of juvenile delinquents these days compared to 40 years ago? I believe there is. This may be due in part to the differences in laws, but can also be directly related to how children were disciplined in those days compared to now. There are far more young people killing other people now than there were 40 years ago. There is so much more violence everywhere we look today. The prevalence

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of sex, drugs and violence is disturbing. Objectification of women and children is also far more prevalent today than 40 years ago. How do we change this? Considering that there is no proof that spanking is truly detrimental to the development of children rather spanking, or the lack thereof, is directly related to the lack of respect for socially acceptable behavior. The pure disregard for any type of authority or law that is intended to keep the people of the world safe is pushed away by the worry of what the neighbors may think. I do not condone abuse but I do condone spanking. There is a significant difference between the two. I am an authoritarian parent. I believe that to have a respectful, well behaved child that the child must have structure. I believe that a child who tried to put their finger into and electrical outlet needs to have their hand slapped, that a thief should wear the sign that says to the world what theyve done. What has my belief system done for me, for my children? Well, my children have straight As. My children are respectful and well behaved a majority of the time. Children are allowed to make mistakes and they are allowed to fumble every now and then. This is what makes them human. All we can do, as parents, and as a society is learn to embrace children and allow for punishment that fits the crime. Furthermore, if we follow what our parents and our parents parents taught us and lead by example rather than use our words to teach our children, the world would be a much better, much safer place. We wouldnt have to resort to corporal punishment to get our point across if we did lead instead of worry about the rest of the worlds opinion.

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This graph is representative of the results of different parenting styles used by an adolescents friends parents on adolescents. What can be inferred here is that the more authoritative a parent is with their children the less likely they are to participate in high risk behaviors. This also shows that the influence of a parent on their childs friends can be quite beneficial. The more neglectful the parent is the more likely the child and the childs friends are to participate in activities like binge drinking or drug use which directly correlates to other high risk behaviors like unprotected sex. This particular study was conducted in 2007 and included over 90,000 adolescents across the United States. The only conclusion I draw from these statistics is that there are far less authoritative parents than necessary and far more neglectful ones. I also think that there are not enough parents that are fully engaged in their childrens lives to include the acquaintances they have and the parents of their acquaintances.

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This graph is representative of nearly 35,000 adults with varying degrees of physical punishment throughout childhood and the long term ramifications of that punishment. According to this study, conducted in 2004 and 2005, adults who experiences some form of corporal punishment as children are more likely to have a mood or anxiety disorder and are more likely to use or abuse alcohol and or drugs as adults. The fortunate thing about this study is that it also shows that adults with no physical punishment as children also display use and abuse of drugs and alcohol as well as anxiety and mood disorders. The slight difference in percentages demonstrates to me that physical punishment is not the cause for these disorders and vices, that physical punishment is merely a coincidence that people are using as a scapegoat for such behavior. I cannot and will not say that I have never spanked my children. I have and I will if it is necessary. I am an authoritative parent and I will not allow anyone to change the way I deal with my children. It is my responsibility to encourage my children and to allow them to be who they want to be, but it is not my responsibility to allow them to participate in activities that will prevent them from achieving their full potential. The way it is these days, our future as a society is pretty glum and I refuse to allow my children to be a part of it. Discipline is necessary and

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spanking is not the root of all evil rather an effective tool when used properly and not taken to extremes.

MacKenzie, Michael J., et al. "Corporal Punishment and Child Behavioural and Cognitive Outcomes Through 5 Years Of Age: Evidence From A Contemporary Urban Birth Cohort Study. Infant & Child Development 21.1 (2012): 3-33. Print. This source has a lot of statistics relating to how different genders discipline children differently and the effects of different disciplinary tactics on children.

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Mah, Janet, and Charlotte Johnston. "Cultural Variations in Mothers' Acceptance on and Intent to Use Behavioral Child Management Techniques." Journal of Child & Family Studies 21.3 (2012): 486-97. Print. This source attempts to identify differences between European/Canadian and Chinese mothers and their willingness to use punishment, rewards, positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement to deter unacceptable behavior in children. Postmus, Judy L., Chien-Chung Huang, and Amanda Mathisen-Stylianou. "The Impact of Physical and Economic Abuse on Mental Health and Parenting." Children & Youth Services Review 34.9 (2012): 1922-28. Print. This source identifies difference between parenting styles and discipline across a variety of socioecomonic areas as well and parents with histories of abuse or neglect and the way that abuse or neglect translates into their general idea of parenting. Braverman, Julia. "The Brief Addiction Science Information Source (BASIS)." 'The Brief Addiction Science Information Source (BASIS)' Permalink, 19 July 2012. Web. 20 Jan. 2013. This study refers to my second graph relating to the long term effects of corporal punishment on children as adults

Belkin, Kat. "The Brief Addiction Science Information Source (BASIS)." 'The Brief Addiction Science Information Source (BASIS)' Permalink, 31 Oct. 2012. Web. 20 Jan. 2013. This refers to my first graph relating to parenting styles and the effects of different parenting styles on adolescents and their friends.

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