Corporal punishment is a methodology of punishing a person by inflicting painful experiences m or pain as retribution for a wrong action or offense committed. It is the application of physical force inflicting pain but not necessarily causing any wounds as a means of discipline. There has to be a certain degree of pain for the punishment to be classified as corporal. The corporal punishment is an effective method of correcting a child’s behavior. It stands out as the best technique to bring up young children in terms of their characters and behaviors.
The practice has raised mixed reaction as to its effectiveness to behavioral change. According to research conducted it reveals that corporal punishment is an effective process of correcting a person’s behavior. It’s mostly a common practice for children under 8years. That is, parents or teachers use force to maintain effective discipline which is very essential to assist in preventing a behavioral disorder (Grogan, 2007).
Inflicting pain but not causing wounds to young children would control their action since they would develop some fear of facing the same penalty. This would enhance a good behavior in children. On the other hand, this practice may adversely affect a child both physically and psychologically. They get traumatized by the pain or become violent due to his or her past experiences.
Corporal punishment is discouraged by the modern society because it is treated as a child abuse due to the physical abuse associated with it. In general point of view, practicing corporal punishment can be seen being an abusive teacher or parent but in the long run it would correct the child’s behavior (Mulvaney, 2007). The pain would teach a child a lesson that what he or she did was bad or wrong. In conclusion corporal punishment is an effective way of punishing child but needs to stick to its intention and intensity to differentiate it with child abuse.
References
Grogan-Kaylor, A., & Otis, M. D. (2007). The Predictors Of Parental Use Of Corporal Punishment. Family Relations, 56(1), 80-91.
Mulvaney, M. K., & Mebert, C. J. (2007). Parental Corporal Punishment Predicts Behavior Problems In Early Childhood. Journal of Family Psychology, 21(3), 389-397.
