In today‘s society, spanking is a “primitive” way of enforcing discipline on a child. It serves to heighten negative responses towards their parents, siblings, and other people around them. Parents attempt to curb the behavioral pattern of their children by spanking them. They do this to show that they love their children, but most spanking cases result in development of hatred towards the parents. Of course, there are those parents who believe that children become fearful and adhere to the prescribed rules of the society when threatened by corporal punishment, but the reality is that spanking is not the best way to discipline a child. Spanking has three main repercussions: it teaches children that violence is an accepted norm, it destroys children self-esteem, and it builds animosity in the homes.
Firstly, children who are spanked grow up with the idea that spanking is a means of enforcing disciple become so enraged at that their parents that retaliated against them in different ways. Some children may physically assault other students, siblings or even destroy property. They are led to believe that this form of corporal punishment is administered out of love. The children, who cannot lash out at their parents physically, develop aggressive tendencies that lead to acts of aggressions towards those they encounter daily.
Secondly, children who are spanked find that their self-esteem weakens over time. They read about the history of mankind and realize that those who were spanked had committed acts that are deviations to the norm of the society. As a result, the children are led to believe that they are deviants in the society. On the whole, children are expected to mistakes as they test the ways of the world. When a caregiver spanks a child for attempting to explore new ideas, it leads the child with a low self-esteem and self-values. They eventually learn to suppress their need to explore new ideas. James (2001) believes that spanking teaches a child that they are victims. Furthermore, the more a child is victimized, the more likely it is that there is a self- perception of deserving the discomfort and suffering. The fact is that people who believe they are victims behave like victims and eventually become victims.
Finally, Project NoSpank (n.d.) reiterates that children learn good behavior if they imitate good behavior and they learn to respect others when they are respected in turn. One may argue that spanking teaches the child to respect the rules set out by the society and any deviation to this norm be punished. But, how helpful can the idea of spanking be when the media continue to show that blacks were spanked because of their color and whites lashed for committing serious acts against the law? Children will of course begin to liken themselves to these deviants of the society. Advocates for human rights groups, note that any form of physical punishment in children, leave long-lasting scars on their emotions.
In concluding, the process of spanking is demeaning and people should not believe that physical punishment is helpful in any form. They should try to find creative ways to administer punishment, so that children actually learn from the mistakes that they make and not grow up thinking that it is wrong to explore new ideas. Caregivers can discuss the wronged behavior and help the child to find new ways to channel their energies to prevent a repeated behavior. Another way to curb unwanted behavior is to offer “time out” periods so that the child can reflect on the negative behavior and find ways to make them positive. Caregivers, who administer spanking as a means of punishment should be mindful of the laws that protect children and resist the urge to do so in order to avoid criminal charges.
Reference
Clabaugh, Gary K, (1999) The Singapore Solution Web.
http://newfoundations.com/Clabaugh/CuttingEdge/Singapore Retrieved May 7, 2014
Graham, Judith, (2001) Spanking Bulletin #4357 Web. http://www./umaine.edu/publications
Retrieved May 7, 2014
Hine, Don, & Kilpatrick, Kyn, Parental Empathy and Child Maltreatment – Research to Practice,
August 2006. Web. www.emphaticparenting.org/ Retrieved May 7, 2014
Kandel, Elizabeth, (1992) Physical Punishment and the Development of Aggressive and Violent
Behaviour: A Review http://www.neverhitachild.org/areview Retrieved May 7, 2014
Project No Spank - The Web presence of Parents and Teachers Against Violence in Education,
Inc. http://nospank.org Retrieved May 7, 2014
Physical Punishment and The Developmentof Aggressive and Violent Behavior:A Review
Elizabeth Kandel(June, 1992)
