Children spanking is a common practice in order to make them disciplined by their parents. Children spanking is strictly prohibited in several countries while a number of countries have prohibited hitting children in schools (Clabaugh). Children spanking is one of much argumentative issues where people express their opinions in a different manner. Quite a lot of people believe that any kind of spanking, hitting or torturing is harmful while, on the other side, a number of people suggest that it is necessary to use some amount of force in order to prevent their negative behavior. This paper intends to discuss the children spanking along with discussing related aspects of the area under discussion and further states that children should not spanked.
I am strongly against children spanking and there are a number of reasons that suggest why a child should not spanked in any case. A family is like a training camp for a child and, when he is spanked at home by his parents, he starts assuming that hitting is the best way to achieve what he wants. Hitting a child or even scolding him, makes him a hitter. Spanking suggest children that it is okay to spank others, if they are not acting as per their wish. A child who is spanked by his parents has a tendency to hit his classmates in school or his siblings at the home; in other words, you are making your child violent by spanking him.
Rob Walters, a known expert expresses his opinion on children spanking in these words:
“The short answer is no. When your child misbehaves or acts in ways that are defiant, inappropriate, or even dangerous, you want to show him that this behavior is unacceptable and needs to change. Spanking may seem like a direct and effective way to do that, but it also delivers other messages you don't want to be sent” (Waters).
Spanking children devalues them, and they develop a feeling inside that they are indeed bad. Self image of a child is made by other’s behavior towards him and especially his parent’s behavior. A guilt feeling develops inside the child when a child is spanked by his parents, and that affects his thought process in a negative manner. A spanked child behaves in peculiar ways than other normal children. He feels withdrawn, weaker and smaller than others and may avoid mingling with others. There are a number of cases where spanked children are seen avoiding eye contacts with their parents and others and prefer to live and play alone (Straus). Children spanking affects the relation of children and parents in the utmost manner; it devalues the child as well as the parents. Spanking children makes an authoritarian image of the parents in eyes of a child, and he feels detached with his parents (Straus & Donnelly).
Spanking does not improve the behavior of a child. Once parents start spanking their child, it increases, and stop line is often crossed by the children. When a child tries to reach a sophisticated item, parents told him by scolding or taping the hand, and when he further tries to any valuable item, he is hit. It does not stop and gradually converts into child abuse. Parents come with bigger guns once the spanking is started, because child is not aware of his actions and he keeps repeating doing the same things (Straus & Donnelly). In such cases, parents may win small battles, but they certainly lose the war. In a number of cases, it has been observed that the spanking affects the child adversely, and his behavior deteriorates instead of improving. A child who feels right acts rightly, but it does not apply when child is spanked. A revengeful behavior develops in child when a child is hit, and he shows the same by means of further negative acts, again he is spanked and this cycle continues. Finally, he is converted into a person of a defiant nature who believes in the way of suppressing others in order to achieve everything (Dorpat).
After observing the abovementioned analysis of the subject, it can be concluded that spanking does not improve the behavior of a child but it affects child in the most negative manner. A number of people argue that it is not easy to control the behavior of a child, and spanking becomes necessary sometimes in order to control them but they forget that spanking leaves a scar on children that affect them for the rest of their life. Experts suggest that parents must avoid spanking children, and there are various other methods that can help in improving children’s negative behavior. Educating, encouraging, and counseling affects the behavior in positive ways instead of spanking. Our objective should be to improve the behavior of a child instead of teaching him a lesson for is negative behavior or actions. Spanking children is considered very bad in some countries and, is completely banned. There are various aspects of this issue and all of them lead to the conclusion that children spanking is unethical and produces several negative results instead of any improvement in the negative behavior of a child.
Works Cited
Clabaugh, Gary K. "The Singapore Solution." 1999. newfoundations. 6 May 2014. <http://www.newfoundations.com/Clabaugh/CuttingEdge/Singapore.html>.
Dorpat, T. L. Crimes of Punishment: America's Culure of Violence . U.S.A.: Algora Publishing , 2007.
Straus, M.A. & Donnelly, D.A. Beating the Devil Out of Them: Corporal Punishment in American Families . New Jersey: Transaction Publishers, 1994.
Straus, Murray A. "Never Ever Hit a Child." 1 September 2012 . neverhitachild. 6 May 2014. <http://www.neverhitachild.org/>.
Waters, Rob. "Healthh Day." 2014. consumer.healthday. 6 May 2014. <http://consumer.healthday.com/encyclopedia/children-s-health-10/child-development-news-124/spanking-ages-3-to-6-645608.html>.
