Introduction
Parents have been accorded the critical responsibility of taking good care of their children, molding, correcting them and making sure that they become acceptable and meaningful members of the society. Time and again, children go wrong, and parents are left with the responsibility of correcting them and making sure that the children do the right thing. It is, however, evident that a good percentage of parents spank their kids when they go wrong. Researchers have also passionately provided their views on this issue. For example, according to a study done by Gershoff (2013), "We found that spanking was associated with unintended detrimental outcomes and was not associated with more immediate or long-term compliance, which is parents' intended outcomes when they discipline their children". A lot of what happens to a child at a tender age affects them later in life and spanking is not an exception. Many parents are left with the question, is it ok to spank children? It goes without saying that some spanking is necessary for parenting, but only if it is purposeful and controlled since a good percentage of indiscipline youth of today have become a real depiction of what happens when necessary spanking is forgone. On the other hand, there is no precise measurement of ‘necessary spanking’. Also, kids are different hence even if the parent is genuinely exerting necessary spanking of the child, the effects on the children are varied. The primary aim of this argumentative essay is to analyze this controversial issue on the effects of spanking children. Spanking is not an effective mode of punishment; this is because it only teaches the child to fear the parent and not to respect and obey them, which could result in aggressive behavior and mental problems later in life.
Effects Relating To Aggression and Mental Problems
Spanking of children has various effects on children, and that is why it is highly denounced, not only in this essay, but also on various other platforms (even by scholars and researchers). In a recent research conducted in a children’s hospital in Ottawa, it was concluded that spanking children, which can be depicted as corporal punishment to some extent, can result in erosion of development and consequently a decreased IQ (Smith, 2006). This research was shifted towards the biological aspect since it all starts in the brain. Therefore, the brain is first affected before all the psychological issues come into the picture. Spanking decreases the gray matter in the brain, yet the gray matter is a vital part of the central nervous system. It is responsible for factors such as intelligence testing and learning abilities hence it is involved in aspects of sensory perception, memory, and emotions among others. In the long run, this could result in increased levels of aggression; for instance, they tend to act out or involve themselves in acts of defiance.
As mentioned earlier, spanking kids could be as a result of the child’s mischief or wrong behavior, but this mode of punishment is highly denounced since it is a shaky one in that it can be dangerous for the child. According to Gershoff (2013), “Parents report that one of the misbehaviors most likely to elicit spanking is when a child acts aggressively.” Some parents tend to vent out their frustrations on their children hence spanking them for really unrealistic reasons or no reasons at all. Physical punishment could instill fear and anxiety in the children; this is because punishing the kid will only serve a short term purpose since it does not guarantee that the child will not commit the same mistake; instead, they will avoid committing that mistake for the fear getting physically punished. Therefore spanking the child would teach them to fear making such a mistake and not learning the negative aspect of it. The fact that the child is in fear does not mean they have come to respect their parents or elders. In the long run, the fear and anxiety would result to the kid looking down upon himself/herself due to lack of self-esteem. They tend to extend the fearful and anxious attitude in school and even with friends.
When a child is born and when they are at a tender age, the first friends and confidants they have are their parents. In this case, the child puts so much trust in their parents since they know that they have the capacity to protect them and be there for the child all the time (Gershoff & Grogan-Kaylor, 2016). Spanking a child could result in broken trust between the parent and the child. The parent will view spanking a form of punishment, and to some extent a way of exercising control, but the child will not see this as a correction. Instead, they will view the parent as an enemy. In such a case, the child will not confide in their parents anymore since the trust had already been broken. However, this is just a short-term effect. In the long run, the child will develop communication problems in that they cannot air out any issues that may be eating them up since they have no one to confide on. Therefore, this could lead to aggression; instead of the child communicating any problems they may be having, they turn to letting it out through aggressive behavior such as shouting and being angry all the time. If such a problem is not keenly managed, it could advance to a later age where they get into acts of defiance such as crime or using drugs. That would be a way to channel out their frustrations hence spanking could lead to aggression and mental problems.
Spanking could result in aggression towards a spouse and kids since it teaches the child that it is okay to get violent at times and the fact that it is part of a loving relationship. This is achieved under social learning theory by modeling. The children would be bound to ask: if parents love you, and they spank you, why not use the same on your wife and kids who you also love? It is quite evident that beating a child is an act of aggression. Therefore, their brain registers this as a situation of danger hence they are not likely to learn much in such an instance, (Gershoff & Grogan-Kaylor, 2016). The more a child is exposed to physical punishment, the more aggressive they get and the better they get at defending themselves. Since children are different, their modes of defense are different. In the long run, they grow fearless of the punishments instilled upon them hence they extend this to their friends and even at school; such a child would make sure to aggress before they are aggressed upon. This could lead to them being violent with their friends. The situation can escalate to advanced violence behavior when they grow up; for instance, they may end up exercising adult abusive behavior like beating up their wives and kids.
Spanking could also affect the moral internalization aspect of a child’s development (Smith, 2006). The primary long-term purpose of parents and the family as a whole is to help children to internalize the social values and attitudes of the society that should act as a guide towards their behavior. Moral internalization includes the ability to have a sensitivity to wrongdoing and capacity to restrain oneself from doing wrong.
According to Smith (2006), “Promoting internal control over behavior is an important goal in family discipline, and most experts regard it as much more important than immediate compliance.” An aspect that most parents do not realize is that exercising power-assertive discipline without explanation or induction may result in the opposite of what they expect. In such a case there would be a decreased chance of the child internalizing the moral values that the parent is trying to teach. Therefore, it results in the child acting defiant since they did not understand why this is wrong and why that is right. Consequently, they may become undisciplined, in the long run. Therefore, parents should adopt inductive discipline since it is more efficient.
Aside from the numerous aspects of aggression caused by spanking children, there is also the issue of mental health. It is not as external as aggression may be, but it is internal in nature. However, no one should dismiss it because it is equally dangerous. Physical punishment affects the mental health of a child adversely, which could escalate to a later age; this also deems spanking as an ineffective method of punishment. Mental problems are likely to arise if the spanking is repeatedly done -and as mentioned earlier, some parents use it as a way to vent out their frustrations (Gershoff & Grogan-Kaylor, 2016). Such issues tend to be ignored due to their internal nature. For that reason, they are left unsolved leading to lifelong effects. There has been a series of research conducted on the relation between punishment and mental health on childhood and later in adulthood. The findings were evident that the mental problems suffered in adulthood were as a result of physical punishment during childhood.
Mental problems arise due the fact that a child suppresses their anger towards their parents when they are physically punished (McCloskey, Figueredo, Koss, 1995). Should this continue, then the child’s attitude changes towards not only the parents but also life in general, which affects their self-esteem. Such children become socially impaired since they are anti-social.
In essence, the attitude they would have towards life is that of neglect and lack of love. At such a tender age, children need love and care but if they are subjected to spanking time and again, they tend to feel neglected and unwanted (Larzelere, Cox, & Smith, 2010). In time, this attitude escalates to depression, which is a life-long issue if it is not identified and sorted out fast. These problems are correlated since one affects the other. In this case, depression can cause suicidal thoughts and drug abuse, especially for a teenager. One tends to use substance abuse as a way to channel out their frustrations and depression. Currently, about 2-7 percent of adults suffer from mental illnesses including anxiety disorder, major disorder, and paranoia that are attributable to physical punishment in childhood (Larzelere, Cox, & Smith, 2010).
Recommendation
According to research conducted at the Family Research Laboratory by Dr. Murray Strauss, it is clear that spanking kids teach them aggressive behavior, and a large percentage of parents admit that they do not like physically punishing their children. On a light note, there is no parent who, when they first helped their kid after they were born, would say, ‘I can’t wait to spank this child.’ That would be absurd hence, it is plain and straightforward that parents do not like beating their children. Parents should, therefore, consider other methods of punishment since after all, kids need to be corrected and they have to become individuals with upright moral values in the society. Also, it is evident that physical punishment only results to more negative outcomes than positive ones.
There are many methods that parents could use so as to avoid spanking their kids at all costs. As mentioned earlier, many parents spank their children out of anger and frustration. For that reason, the first step would be to deal with the frustration itself first. When a child is out of control and does some wrong that may cause the parent just to lose it, instead of spanking the child, it is advisable first to get calm so as to deal with the situation in a sober state of mind. A good trick in such a case would be to count back from ten as a way to get calm. Therefore, this would reduce the chance of spanking a child. Another situation that leads to parents hitting their kids is when they make repeated requests that the child does not listen to; a proper remedy for such a situation would be to get the child down, make eye contact and make a kind but firm request. Indeed, this usually works in most cases.
Another solution would be giving choices. Maybe if the child is playing with their food, it is wise to offer them an option. For instance, the parent can cover the food and tell the child to eat when the feel like. This might seem irresponsible but to a great extent, it teaches the child how to make healthy choices. This is inductive discipline, and they can understand the effect of their actions. For example, if they do not eat, they will get hungry hence they end up eating. Parents could also use what the child likes most as a form of punishment. In this digital age, parents can take the child’s toys, cell phone or cut off internet. This would make the child do what is expected of them without any violence. There are many other ways of teaching children and violence is not the best way.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is evident that the main reasons why parents punish their children are to punish misbehavior, to reduce the occurrence of such behavior and to encourage discipline and desirable behavior in the future. Spanking only achieves the temporary goals but does not offer a permanent solution. It can, therefore, be concluded that there is little evidence that retains physical punishment as a parental repertoire of discipline and should hence be actively denounced. It indeed true that violence can cause aggression and mental illnesses. Parents should, therefore, device other methods of punishing their children since they have to be corrected after all.
References
Gershoff, E. (2013). Spanking and Child Development: We Know Enough Now To Stop Hitting
Our Children. Child Dev Perspect., 7(3), 133-137. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/cdep.12038
Gershoff, E.T & Grogan-Kaylor, A. (2016). Spanking and child outcomes: Old controversies and
new meta-analyses. Journal of Family Psychology, 30(4), 453-469.
Larzelere, R., Cox, R., & Smith, G. (2010). Do nonphysical punishments reduce antisocial
behavior more than spanking? A comparison using the strongest previous causal evidence against spanking. BMC Pediatrics, 10(1), 10. http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-2431-10-10
McCloskey, L. A., Figueredo, A. J., & Koss, M. P. (1995). The effects of systemic family
violence on children's mental health. Child development, 66(5), 1239-1261.
Smith, A. (2006). The State of Research on the Effects of Physical Punishment. Social Policy
