Analysis Of Molly Castelloe's Article How Spanking Harms The Brain
To spank or not to spank, that is a question. This is a question many parents will ask of themselves, me included. I am the mother of a beautiful toddler and she can be very difficult and often quite ornery sometimes. Not a day goes by, that I do not worry if I am making the best decisions for her upbringing and I worry how the decisions I make will impact her overall life. Do I follow in my parents footsteps? Do I listen to my pediatrician? My parents always believed in discipline no matter what the form it may have been. I can remember countless hours of standing in the corner because I couldn’t resist fighting with my siblings. My parents were not huge fans of spanking, but if we got out of control, or if they were unable to reason with
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us, they were not afraid to give us a smack on the bottom. Many parents and pediatricians believe that spanking a child will teach them that it is ok to hit and abuse others. This has never been an issue with my family. We learned that if we received a spanking we were to stop and never repeat that behavior again. I do not think it has had any negative impact on my siblings or I, other than it may have stung a little. In my opinion spanking is a very effective form of punishment to immediately address negative behaviors in children.
The definition of spanking is “to hit someone, esp. a child, with the hand on the buttocks, usually as a punishment” according to the online Cambridge Dictionary. Spanking, if done correctly, helps to address certain behaviors. In "Spanking Can Be an Appropriate Form of Child Discipline," Dr. Jared Pingleton explains that it is important to explain to a child why they are receiving the spanking. His approach in this article is to raise well behaved and well-mannered children with a loving heart and a firm and consistent hand. This is the approach that I have chosen to take with my daughter. She is now old enough to understand that when I tell her “no” it will hurt you she needs to stop what she is doing. She is also learning that if she does something that is not acceptable and I tell her more than one time that she is doing something inappropriate, there will be some kind of negative consequence.
I can remember sitting in my pediatrician’s office at my daughter’s twelve month check-up going over her development, when her pediatrician asked me if she is starting to act out and how do I handle it. Being a first time mom this question kind of threw me off guard. At a year old I tell her “no” and redirect her attention. My pediatrician then goes on to tell me that the most effective form of discipline for a toddler is a time out. She states that you put the child in a timeout for a minute to equate to their age. As mentioned, I do not think that a child should be spanked until they can understand what they are doing wrong. However, once they have reached that point in their development, is when they will start testing their boundaries; to see how far they can push you and what they can get away with. I have witnessed this on many occasions with my friend and her three year old son. She lets him physically abuse her if he cannot get his way since she does not believe in spanking as a way to discipline her child. She will plead with him to stop, telling him no, put him in time-out, but nothing seems to work. He always returns to his bad behaviors in which he was partaking in the first place. I believe, sometimes saying “no” and redirecting their attention is not good enough; especially if they are doing something dangerous and life threatening. This is a behavior that I will not tolerate out of my child. Also, if you have to tell the child over and over again to stop and have tried multiple instances of time outs then other measures need to be taken. The child needs to know that you are serious and a simple time out will not work. Most children ignore your pleas to behave. Spanking will teach them very quickly that what they are doing is unacceptable and there will be repercussions to their behaviors. They will also learn to respect their parents and hopefully not engage in this same behavior any longer.
We have all encountered the screaming child at the grocery store, just out right throwing a temper tantrum. Some of us feel sorry for the parents, some of us believe that the child needs a good ole’ fashion spanking and others will just judge from a distance. We live in a society where parents are now afraid to discipline their own children for fear of being charged with child abuse or people making the perception they are an awful parent. Children learn that their parents are afraid to publicly punish, which gives them more incentive to act out and do whatever pleases them. This behavior would be quickly corrected with a spanking on their bottom. Sometimes all a parent has to do is threaten that a spanking will happen, and if they do the behavior is immediately stopped. Other times when it is not, the parent should discipline their child when they get home if they don’t feel comfortable doing it in public. Children need to learn that these behaviors are not acceptable in public or at home, or wherever you might be. We have come to a point where parents feel they have to call the police in order to discipline their own children. In an article “Father requests police presence when spanking child” Lori Grisham writes that Dale Garcia a father of a twelve year old requested the presence of a police officer in order to spank his daughter. His daughter was fighting with her sister and when he wanted to discipline her with a spanking, she said that it was against the law. The deputy arrived and supervised the spanking and confirmed that it was legal. A simple spanking shouldn’t have to be observed by a police officer. Law enforcement officers have more important jobs to do by keeping the community in which people live safe. Parents should not have to worry about being accused of child abuse especially if there are no physical marks or bruises left on the child.
Though most time spankings are simply for immediate correction and discipline, sometimes parents do use spanking as a justification to abuse their children. Even though I support spanking a child on their rear-end with an open hand, I do not condone any form of child abuse that would cause any physical harm. The best example would be the Adrian Peterson case “N.F.L. Rocked Again as Adrian Peterson Faces a Child Abuse Charge” Steve Eder and Pat Borzi write that Peterson took a tree branch and struck his four year old son to the point that there were open wounds and bruises. “Peterson told the police that the punishment was a ‘whipping’ administered after the boy pushed another of Peterson’s children.” (par.12) This is in no way an acceptable form of punishment. A child does not learn anything if all you are doing is physically abusing them and not talking to them about why their behavior was wrong. There are proven cases that people who have been overly abused in their childhood will grow up to be abusive to their family.
Some people argue that spanking will harm a child’s mental development.
These individuals believe, it can lower a child’s IQ and hinder their learning. In her article “How Spanking Harms the Brain,” Molly Castelloe Ph.D. writes, “Spanking gets quick results, but it doesn't reduce the undesired behavior. In addition to detrimental physiological effects, it may also inflict lasting emotional damage that inhibits the learning process.” (par. 7) In my opinion I think if I child wasn’t abused and just spanked; Molly Castelloe’s conclusion is bogus. That being said, Del Jones writes that USA Today conducted interviews with about 20 CEO’s that said that they were spanked in one form or another. Some of the CEO’s that they interviewed were, Mark Cuban, John Chambers (Cisco system), and Dave Haddner (Leggett and Platt) to name a few. A person would have to be disciplined and intelligent to be able to establish that title and run a company. From the CEO’s point of view, it would seem that spanking has served its purpose, and taught the lessons it was intended; that there were no ill effects to their …show more content…
development.
People who are opposed to spanking believe it will traumatize and will teach children that it is ok to hit and be abusive toward others. In "As Parents Tire of Spoiling, Spanking Makes a Comeback,” Daniel Costello writes about “decade-long study, Diana Baumrind of the University of California-Berkeley found that parents who combined positive encouragement and a reasonable level of discipline--including spanking--had the best outcomes, as defined by rough measures of self-worth and personal achievement.” (par.10) Throughout the article he quotes many parents that use spanking as a form of punishment. They have tried all the other forms of discipline and are frustrated by the results; their children are still acting out.
In recent news from the riots in Boston, there is a mother that was caught on tape physically disciplining her son.
She witnessed him behaving in a manner that was unacceptable by her standards and addressed it immediately to stop the behavior. The mother at first was demonized by the media for beating her child and physically abusing him. When the public started responding with heralds such as “mother of the year” and “bring out the mothers”, it reinforced the mindset of the appropriate level of discipline for the situation. In reality this mother saved her child from probable arrest and even possible injury or death. When ABC News interviewed the sixteen year old he admitted he knew what he was doing was wrong, and his mother punished him because she loves him and did not want to see him harmed, arrested, or even killed. It is every parent’s duty to protect their children and if having to teach their kids that these behaviors are not acceptable by taking desperate measures, I believe the mother had every right to do what she did. She didn’t overly physically harm the boy in anyway. She was trying to save a life that was very precious to
her.
In the end, parents should try to do what is in the best interest of their children. Each child is different and will respond to different methods of discipline. Sometimes the situation calls for more or less discipline, depending on the child’s overall behavior. If it is a matter of life or death; a harsher punishment may be required. If the situation is one where a child is being stubborn, or lazy, or destructive a lesser punishment such as time-outs or redirecting is the most appropriate option. In my experience, spanking has not hindered my growth or made me a violent person. With that said, I do not believe that it is leaving an emotional scar on my daughter. I use spanking as a reinforcement to protect my child and I combine that with a positive attitude to show why she was wrong in the first place. As long as we remember to not strike a child out of anger, and always explain to them why they are receiving a spanking, there should be no issue with using spanking along with other forms of punishment such as time-outs, taking something away, and redirecting their attention as a form of punishment to discipline a child. I believe that this will help them to grow into mature, respectable, honorable, and responsible members of society.
us, they were not afraid to give us a smack on the bottom. Many parents and pediatricians believe that spanking a child will teach them that it is ok to hit and abuse others. This has never been an issue with my family. We learned that if we received a spanking we were to stop and never repeat that behavior again. I do not think it has had any negative impact on my siblings or I, other than it may have stung a little. In my opinion spanking is a very effective form of punishment to immediately address negative behaviors in children.
The definition of spanking is “to hit someone, esp. a child, with the hand on the buttocks, usually as a punishment” according to the online Cambridge Dictionary. Spanking, if done correctly, helps to address certain behaviors. In "Spanking Can Be an Appropriate Form of Child Discipline," Dr. Jared Pingleton explains that it is important to explain to a child why they are receiving the spanking. His approach in this article is to raise well behaved and well-mannered children with a loving heart and a firm and consistent hand. This is the approach that I have chosen to take with my daughter. She is now old enough to understand that when I tell her “no” it will hurt you she needs to stop what she is doing. She is also learning that if she does something that is not acceptable and I tell her more than one time that she is doing something inappropriate, there will be some kind of negative consequence.
I can remember sitting in my pediatrician’s office at my daughter’s twelve month check-up going over her development, when her pediatrician asked me if she is starting to act out and how do I handle it. Being a first time mom this question kind of threw me off guard. At a year old I tell her “no” and redirect her attention. My pediatrician then goes on to tell me that the most effective form of discipline for a toddler is a time out. She states that you put the child in a timeout for a minute to equate to their age. As mentioned, I do not think that a child should be spanked until they can understand what they are doing wrong. However, once they have reached that point in their development, is when they will start testing their boundaries; to see how far they can push you and what they can get away with. I have witnessed this on many occasions with my friend and her three year old son. She lets him physically abuse her if he cannot get his way since she does not believe in spanking as a way to discipline her child. She will plead with him to stop, telling him no, put him in time-out, but nothing seems to work. He always returns to his bad behaviors in which he was partaking in the first place. I believe, sometimes saying “no” and redirecting their attention is not good enough; especially if they are doing something dangerous and life threatening. This is a behavior that I will not tolerate out of my child. Also, if you have to tell the child over and over again to stop and have tried multiple instances of time outs then other measures need to be taken. The child needs to know that you are serious and a simple time out will not work. Most children ignore your pleas to behave. Spanking will teach them very quickly that what they are doing is unacceptable and there will be repercussions to their behaviors. They will also learn to respect their parents and hopefully not engage in this same behavior any longer.
We have all encountered the screaming child at the grocery store, just out right throwing a temper tantrum. Some of us feel sorry for the parents, some of us believe that the child needs a good ole’ fashion spanking and others will just judge from a distance. We live in a society where parents are now afraid to discipline their own children for fear of being charged with child abuse or people making the perception they are an awful parent. Children learn that their parents are afraid to publicly punish, which gives them more incentive to act out and do whatever pleases them. This behavior would be quickly corrected with a spanking on their bottom. Sometimes all a parent has to do is threaten that a spanking will happen, and if they do the behavior is immediately stopped. Other times when it is not, the parent should discipline their child when they get home if they don’t feel comfortable doing it in public. Children need to learn that these behaviors are not acceptable in public or at home, or wherever you might be. We have come to a point where parents feel they have to call the police in order to discipline their own children. In an article “Father requests police presence when spanking child” Lori Grisham writes that Dale Garcia a father of a twelve year old requested the presence of a police officer in order to spank his daughter. His daughter was fighting with her sister and when he wanted to discipline her with a spanking, she said that it was against the law. The deputy arrived and supervised the spanking and confirmed that it was legal. A simple spanking shouldn’t have to be observed by a police officer. Law enforcement officers have more important jobs to do by keeping the community in which people live safe. Parents should not have to worry about being accused of child abuse especially if there are no physical marks or bruises left on the child.
Though most time spankings are simply for immediate correction and discipline, sometimes parents do use spanking as a justification to abuse their children. Even though I support spanking a child on their rear-end with an open hand, I do not condone any form of child abuse that would cause any physical harm. The best example would be the Adrian Peterson case “N.F.L. Rocked Again as Adrian Peterson Faces a Child Abuse Charge” Steve Eder and Pat Borzi write that Peterson took a tree branch and struck his four year old son to the point that there were open wounds and bruises. “Peterson told the police that the punishment was a ‘whipping’ administered after the boy pushed another of Peterson’s children.” (par.12) This is in no way an acceptable form of punishment. A child does not learn anything if all you are doing is physically abusing them and not talking to them about why their behavior was wrong. There are proven cases that people who have been overly abused in their childhood will grow up to be abusive to their family.
Some people argue that spanking will harm a child’s mental development.
These individuals believe, it can lower a child’s IQ and hinder their learning. In her article “How Spanking Harms the Brain,” Molly Castelloe Ph.D. writes, “Spanking gets quick results, but it doesn't reduce the undesired behavior. In addition to detrimental physiological effects, it may also inflict lasting emotional damage that inhibits the learning process.” (par. 7) In my opinion I think if I child wasn’t abused and just spanked; Molly Castelloe’s conclusion is bogus. That being said, Del Jones writes that USA Today conducted interviews with about 20 CEO’s that said that they were spanked in one form or another. Some of the CEO’s that they interviewed were, Mark Cuban, John Chambers (Cisco system), and Dave Haddner (Leggett and Platt) to name a few. A person would have to be disciplined and intelligent to be able to establish that title and run a company. From the CEO’s point of view, it would seem that spanking has served its purpose, and taught the lessons it was intended; that there were no ill effects to their …show more content…
development.
People who are opposed to spanking believe it will traumatize and will teach children that it is ok to hit and be abusive toward others. In "As Parents Tire of Spoiling, Spanking Makes a Comeback,” Daniel Costello writes about “decade-long study, Diana Baumrind of the University of California-Berkeley found that parents who combined positive encouragement and a reasonable level of discipline--including spanking--had the best outcomes, as defined by rough measures of self-worth and personal achievement.” (par.10) Throughout the article he quotes many parents that use spanking as a form of punishment. They have tried all the other forms of discipline and are frustrated by the results; their children are still acting out.
In recent news from the riots in Boston, there is a mother that was caught on tape physically disciplining her son.
She witnessed him behaving in a manner that was unacceptable by her standards and addressed it immediately to stop the behavior. The mother at first was demonized by the media for beating her child and physically abusing him. When the public started responding with heralds such as “mother of the year” and “bring out the mothers”, it reinforced the mindset of the appropriate level of discipline for the situation. In reality this mother saved her child from probable arrest and even possible injury or death. When ABC News interviewed the sixteen year old he admitted he knew what he was doing was wrong, and his mother punished him because she loves him and did not want to see him harmed, arrested, or even killed. It is every parent’s duty to protect their children and if having to teach their kids that these behaviors are not acceptable by taking desperate measures, I believe the mother had every right to do what she did. She didn’t overly physically harm the boy in anyway. She was trying to save a life that was very precious to
her.
In the end, parents should try to do what is in the best interest of their children. Each child is different and will respond to different methods of discipline. Sometimes the situation calls for more or less discipline, depending on the child’s overall behavior. If it is a matter of life or death; a harsher punishment may be required. If the situation is one where a child is being stubborn, or lazy, or destructive a lesser punishment such as time-outs or redirecting is the most appropriate option. In my experience, spanking has not hindered my growth or made me a violent person. With that said, I do not believe that it is leaving an emotional scar on my daughter. I use spanking as a reinforcement to protect my child and I combine that with a positive attitude to show why she was wrong in the first place. As long as we remember to not strike a child out of anger, and always explain to them why they are receiving a spanking, there should be no issue with using spanking along with other forms of punishment such as time-outs, taking something away, and redirecting their attention as a form of punishment to discipline a child. I believe that this will help them to grow into mature, respectable, honorable, and responsible members of society.