¶ … Against Spanking as a Way of Disciplining Children
Spanking is a subject that has sparked controversy for a long time. The debate has been raging in academic circles, among caregivers and psychologists alike. The idea of spanking is blended with cultural views, religious beliefs, laws imposed by government and a myriad of other factors. The practice of spanking has immense effects that are both psychological and physical. The issue of whether spanking is right is still controversial in both lay and professional realms (Kazdin & Benjet, 2003). The argument presented in this paper is to the effect that since spanking is subject to abuse and the fact that the act seems to send a wrong message to children and is likely to lead to a less than ideal relationship between children and their parents, it should be avoided. It should be avoided because it leads children to act out of fear rather than reason.
There is a lot of research that has focused energies on spanking as part of corporal punishment, its negative effects and the extent to which it can be regarded as helpful in changing children's behavior. Corporal punishment is linked to a number of negative adult behaviors. Some of the problems that have been cited include psychological disturbances, physical aggression tendencies, depression and delinquency. Physical punishment seems to teach children that it is acceptable to inflict pain on other people. There is an indication that spanking may be counterproductive. Further, research has shown that spanking triggers aggression in children and a myriad of maladaptive tendencies (Walsh, 2002).
Ideally, corporal punishment amounts to a form of cruelty directed towards children. Indeed, studies show that the act may be the requisite ingredient for creating cruelty in future generations. Such cruelty spans across a range of social malpractices including violent crime, egregious violations of human rights and even terrorism. The recognition of corporal punishment therefore implicates both the well being of children and the future of the human race. Meting corporal punishment on children has, for a long time been considered by those who care to know that it is a violation of the rights of children under international conventions. The global community must have had compelling reasons to have arrived at such a conclusion. Many nations have ratified this convention by instituting prohibitions to protect children against corporal punishment locally. We cannot overstate the essence of such adjudication (Bitensky, 2006).
Spanking carries gratuitous infliction of pain in children and serves no...
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now