Argumentative Essay: Spanking Gone Wrong

Tracy Smolinski
Mr. Z & Ms. Wrinkle
English II / 6th hour
May 21, 2013
Spanking Gone Wrong
A 34 year-old stay at home mom finds herself with 3 children, 2 girls and a boy, all of them under the age of 6. Not one day is typical, and not 5 minutes go by before you hear “stop that,” or “please put it down.” Patience can sometimes only go so far. It’s not long before just turning her back for 10 minutes to make some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch ends in WWIII. She set them down in front of the TV for some Nickelodeon, just to hopefully buy some time in peace. Apparently Dora the Explorer couldn’t provide that because in the middle of spreading the peanut butter, hollers of “give it back” come yelling from the living room.
Putting down the plastic knife, she makes her way to the other room to end what she finds out is way worse than she expected. The two daughters are fighting over who gets to hold the remote which leads to pulling hair, (nothing new), but her son is rolling is a cloud of fuzzy stuffing from ripping open the couch cushions. It looked like the roof had caved in leaving a blanket of snow across the living room. “Don’t make me count to three!” Yelling the threat of the count would at least halt the chaos, but discipline was needed.
This count can be heard quite often in many homes, especially with young children. Whether it’s from coloring on the wall, fighting with a sibling, or even in the case of your couch being the new carpet, parents have to have their own code of morals and ethics when it comes to discipline. More times than not, after the count of 3, comes a nice spank also known as corporal punishment. In a recent study by U.S. Catholic as many as 42% of parents said it was ok to spank their kids, not counting for the 13% that were undecided (Clarke 23). On the other hand, there are parents that believe a time out or a stern talk at the dinner table will do justice. Researchers have recently brought to attention that spanking is causing harm to children. In accordance, spanking is detrimental to children because parents can go too far, it leaves’ long lasting effects and it doesn’t work any better than saying no.
However, some people believe spanking is ok because its part of life and punishment used to be way worse. Many parents remember getting the wooden spoon, paddle, or even the belt. “They argue physical punishment that is rare, dispassionate, and well reasoned, aiming to respond to severe cases of disobedience or to dangerous situations, is an essential part of a proper childhood formation” (Clarke 23). Although, spanking and physical punishment can go to a whole new level especially when it’s out of frustration and anger. The definition of a “spank’ and what corporal punishment really is has been under debate for years. This is where society fails, thinking what’s okay and what isn’t. To one parent a slap on the hand is a spank while others think many slaps across the butt is a good one. O’Callaghan mentioned “In Webster 's, "spank" means to strike on the buttocks with an open hand” (142). While according to Parenting Magazine “corporal punishment is an act carried out by the parent with the intention of causing the child physical pain, but not injury, for the purposes of correction or control” (Mitchell 19). Furthermore, according to Dr. Greydanus, spanking or physical punishment “includes a wide variety of methods such as hitting, slapping, spanking, punching, kicking, pinching, shaking, shoving, choking, use of various objects (i.e., wooden paddles, belts, sticks, pins, or others), painful body postures (such as placing in closed spaces), use of electric shock, use of excessive exercise drills, or prevention of urine or stool elimination” (Par. 2). It’s obvious that there is a variance between what people think is correct terminology when it comes to spanking. “It 's vital to step back when a situation is escalating to a point of no return in order to give the thinking part of your brain time to catch up with your emotions” (O’Callaghan 142). It’s easy to let patience run thin and get frustrated, but this leads to thoughts without actions and that’s not okay. Also for some parents a spank isn’t enough. “Teaching them a lesson” shouldn’t be hitting a child so hard it leaves bruises or marks. It may be disturbing but some parents go as far as holding a kid up by their shirt against a door, pulling them up by their hair, and even do exercises such as lifting heavy weights till their almost crushed. It doesn’t stop at go to bed without dinner, wash your mouth out, taking away a toy, or locking a child in their room, it can go to the point of abuse. “Some moms who 've spanked their children agree--not necessarily that spanking was bad for their kids, but that it was bad for them and how they wanted to relate to their kids” (O’Callaghan 132). Being left with regret, in fact, is going too far. Thoughts of “I didn’t mean it” or “I should of” shouldn’t cross your mind when disciplining a child. It’s important to treat a child how you want to be treated and teach them lessons for the life ahead of them. When a child is left with a memory of “I remember how I was disciplined” it should be a lesson learned, not one of hurt. That means it went too far.
Spanking also can leave long lasting effects on a child, whether it’s physical, emotional, or mental. “Corporal punishment may succeed in temporarily controlling a child 's behaviors. The trouble is the children may suffer from low self-esteem and depression, become overly aggressive, and exhibit antisocial behavior later as a result” (Mitchell 25). Parents may think their child won’t remember because they are “little” but that’s not always the case. “In teaching children to love and in truly loving them, we are called to demand more of ourselves and them” (Clarke 23). Think about it, the early childhood years are when kids learn the most. Every parent wants their child to love and be loved. Children shouldn’t be scared of making mistakes; they should strive and be exactly who they are. The fear of a spank and corporal punishment can scare a child into a shell they never come out of. Additionally, the spank does travel, and chances are kids will discipline their kids the way they were disciplined. A study by Children’s Voice Magazine says “the more corporal punishment, the greater the chance the child is going to be higher than normal in physical aggressiveness," (Mitchell 25). This just doesn’t mean their attitude but further actions such as getting into trouble at school, theft, vandalism, and even delinquency. So what’s going to keep them from not hitting their children later in life? “Corporal punishment weakens the bond between child and parent ... it chips away at the bond, particularly if it 's repeated a number of times. This is a problem for parents who want to be close to their kids and who want their kids to be close to them” Mitchell from Children’s Voice Magazine said (25). The thing to understand when someone is blessed with a child is that they have received them, they don’t have them. No human was born with their children already handed to them at birth. It took time to understand life finding out whom to become, being raised. The way someone raised them was the key, a bond that no one could take away. It shouldn’t matter they way someone was conceived, if they were an accident, or planned years in advance, whether they were born into poverty, or a rich lifestyle, to a single mom, a broken home, or even not with their original parents, all these scenarios are still a family. It all depends on how you look at it and its why being raised the right way is a big deal. Spanking takes away the moments of learning and dedication to a family bond. It goes too far sometimes leaving a scar on a relationship with someone that can never be repaired. Hitting a boss, spouse, or parent isn’t okay so why hit a child? Devastatingly, sometimes spanking doesn’t even stop in the household. “The prevalence of corporal punishment of children in schools remains high in the United States and remains one of the few industrialized countries allowing corporal punishment in 30 states” (Greydanus par. 3). With that statistic, more than half of United States schools are still allowing children to be punished physically. Greydanus says the top states for children being hit were Mississippi, Arkansas, and Alabama (par. 3). It’s prevalent that the southern United States is allowing the smacks. According to the Office of Civil Rights (2007), school officials, including teachers, administered corporal punishment to 223,190 school children across the nation during the 2006-2007 school year (Greydanus par. 3). Shouldn’t it be up to the parents how they discipline? If a child lives in the south and goes to a school where corporal punishment is ok and then goes home to a house where it’s okay as well, where does the hitting for making a mistake stop? “Medical complications may prevent students from returning to school for days, weeks, or even longer. Reported medical findings include abrasions, severe muscle injury, extensive hematomas, whiplash damage, life-threatening fat hemorrhage, and others (including death!)” (Greydanus par. 6). Children are supposed to go to school to learn, giving them injury for their action is not learning. That’s why spanking has to stop. Whether it’s at home or even worse to think, at school, it’s leaving long lasting life effects. It’s like theirs no escape for a mistake
Spanking has also been proven not to work any better than saying no to a child and theirs research to back it up.
“The recidivism rate for misbehavior by a 2-year-old is about 50% within two hours. It 's 80% within the same day. And that applies to whether it 's just saying no, removing the child, or spanking a child” Mitchell said (25). Children are going to cry, pout, scream, etc. no matter what form of punishment you ensue and chances are they will be back doing it eventually. They might do it again the same day, week, or even month but learning their lesson doesn’t always happen the first time. Spanking is like giving punishment without a reason why. If emotions get a chance to calm themselves, with time, parents can talk things out and a lesson has a chance of being learned better then in a whapping screaming match. Mitchell added, “It doesn 't take a whole new parent to avoid corporal punishment. Parents are doing dozens and dozens of things besides spanking, even parents who are doing some spanking. If they just left out the spanking, they 'd be doing the alternatives, and their child would be better off” (25). A simple search on Google for good forms of child discipline can give any parent better ideas. It may sound cheesy but “putting yourself in the child’s shoes” can be the best thing when it comes between what’s right and wrong. It’s always best to start from the beginning when having a child, but it’s never too late to start changing ways. Dr. Esther K.
Chung, a primary investigator, said the findings on the spanking studies suggest that physicians should want to consider addressing the issues of spanking and corporal punishment during routine infant visits, rather than waiting until the toddler years (Bates 25). Basically, what this means is doctors and physicians are questioning whether it’s right or wrong to question a parent on their discipline and when. If more parents knew the fact of what spanking and corporal punishment could bring so much could change. A lot of parents don’t know “another way out” and that’s what the problem boils down to. There’s always another option. Surprisingly, it’s also been on debate whether corporal punishment is legal or not. Article 19 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child requires states to take "all appropriate legislative, administrative, social and educational measures to protect the child from all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation including sexual abuse, while in the care of parent(s), legal guardian(s) or any other person who has the care of the child...” said the Committee of European Ministers (pg. 29 par. 2). What this is saying is that spanking may be the next big no-no soon enough. If spanking is violating someone, a child at that, saying no to a child is the best thing to do over a spank. Just saying the word “no” may take a while but a spanking won’t always lead to a solution, it more like the easy way out.
Overall, just once sparing the hand can make a difference. It’s important to take some time out to be the best parent possible and remember it’s never too late to change. Spanking can lead to going too far, long lasting effects, and doesn’t work any better than a typical no. A study by U.S. Catholic asked “Creating a home environment free from violence will help create a world free from violence” (Mitchell 23). Stunningly, 75% of people agree not counting for the 9% who were undecided. No one wants to be hit or abused in any way and spanking is part of that, and it can all be ended with using another form of positive discipline.

Works Cited
Bates, Betsy.
"Ask new mothers about corporal punishment." Family Practice News 1 Aug. 2008: 26. Academic OneFile. Web. 25 Apr. 2013.

Clarke, Megan. "Nobody deserves a good spanking: by sparing the rod, both parents and children will learn the gospel discipline of nonviolence, argues this mother of four." U.S. Catholic June 2008: 23+. Academic OneFile. Web. 24 Apr. 2013.

Council of Europe Committee of Ministers. "End All Corporal Punishment of Children." End All Corporal Punishment of Children. Http://www.endcorporalpunishment.org/, Mar. 2013. Web. 29 Apr. 2013. .
Greydanus, Donald E., Dr. "Corporal Punishment in Schools and Its Effect on Academic Success." N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2013. .
Mitchell, Patrick. "Physical punishment and why kids are better off without it."Children 's Voice Magazine July-Aug. 2007: 19. Academic OneFile. Web. 25 Apr. 2013.

O 'Callaghan, Kitty. "Is It Okay to Spank?" Parenting Aug. 2006: 142. Academic OneFile. Web. 24 Apr.
2013.