Why Children Spank
In this day and time to spank or not to spank is an issue of controversy. Not so long ago one could beat their wife, husband or children and that was considered a family matter for others to stay out of. Today some still hold on to the thought of it’s not their business while others say oh, yes, it is their business in spite of where it takes place at.
There is a line between spanking and beating. Since everyone has a mind of their own it can not be assumed everyone is on the same page with what those lines are; for everyone has a different interpretation of those lines.
We all have values and beliefs. Many of those values and beliefs are instilled from our parents and others involved in our lives while we are growing up. We may also choose …show more content…
to change our values and beliefs based upon how those people raised us.
An online article at Parents.com by; Loraine M. Stern, MD, FAAP says: Spanking teaches children that it's all right to hit, and that it's all right to be hit. No parent really wants to convey that message. Striking children doesn't give them the message that violence is undesirable. Instead, it communicates the idea that hitting is a suitable means of solving problems.
Many parents who have hit their child express regret afterward and wish they had tried some other method of discipline. In fact, every form of misbehavior can be an opportunity to teach a child how to live with others or how to get what she wants or needs without resorting to physical measures.
Noted by Murray A. Straus (Straus, M.A.2005, Children Should Never, Ever, Be Spanked No Matter What the Circumstances). There are many reasons why children should never be spanked or subjected to any other kind of corporal punishment. Three of the most fundamental reasons:
1. Spanking has serious harmful side effects that parents have no way of seeing, because such effects do not show up until later.
2. Spanking is no more effective than other methods of correction and control, and it is therefore unnecessary to subject children to the risk of the harmful side effects.
3. Spanking contradicts the ideal of nonviolence in the family and society. One of the main reasons children get spanked is because they act “disrespectful” toward their parents.
Yet, as Dr. T. Berry Brazelton, founder of the Child Development Unit at the Boston Children’s Hospital Medical Center, points out, “When you spank, you are not respectful of the child.” No wonder children are confused, perplexed, and bewildered. Spanking ignores the causes of the problem. For example, a child is taken to an amusement park for a day’s enjoyment. Instead of being grateful (so the parents think), the child acts up, embarrassing the parents in public. Result? The child is quickly escorted to the washroom, where it receives a spanking. But the child was “acting up” because of normal needs it had. It may have been hungry, tired, or bored. So, we punish children for being children! Sometimes it takes a little work to find the cause of a child’s “misbehavior.” If the parents are impatient, they may turn to spanking, which provides a quick, easy fix. Let’s not pretend spanking is for the child’s own good. It is not. It’s for our convenience. If spanked, the child is shortchanged, robbed of important quality time with their parent. Ironically, the more quality time is denied, the more the child will misbehave, as that is the only way it knows to get attention. I guess the moral is, we cannot correct a child’s misbehavior unless we know the cause. So, instead of hitting, let’s talk. Instead of displaying anger, let’s shower our child with love. Not very many years …show more content…
ago, some leading child-rearing experts -- even noted pediatrician Benjamin Spock -- agreed that spanking was an acceptable way to discipline children. But Dr. Spock and his colleagues have learned better. Today the American Academy of Pediatrics and other child health organizations strongly oppose physical punishment for children.
The research all points in favor of no spanking.
There are multiple other more productive ways to disciple children. Research states the goal to not control the child’s behavior but rather teach them how to control their own behavior in a positive manner.
Spanking children in school used to be acceptable. Where I attended school I remember a wood paddle hanging outside the principal’s office, visual reminder of why you did not want to get sent there. These days spanking is no longer acceptable in schools.
It will be interesting to see how this issue revolves through the decades. Baby boomers were a generation that was spanked as children; it’s now their grand kids and great grand kids that there is such controversy over spanking. Will these generations grow up to appreciate a different form of discipline or will they say I wish somebody had spanked my butt when I done
wrong.
As with many subjects spanking children will probably always remain a great topic of debate. It can not be imagined that banning the spanking children could ever truly be enforced. One either agrees with mild/ moderate spanking or they are completely against it.
There is a line between spanking and beating. Since everyone has a mind of their own it can not be assumed everyone is on the same page with what those lines are; for everyone has a different interpretation of those lines.
We all have values and beliefs. Many of those values and beliefs are instilled from our parents and others involved in our lives while we are growing up. We may also choose …show more content…
to change our values and beliefs based upon how those people raised us.
An online article at Parents.com by; Loraine M. Stern, MD, FAAP says: Spanking teaches children that it's all right to hit, and that it's all right to be hit. No parent really wants to convey that message. Striking children doesn't give them the message that violence is undesirable. Instead, it communicates the idea that hitting is a suitable means of solving problems.
Many parents who have hit their child express regret afterward and wish they had tried some other method of discipline. In fact, every form of misbehavior can be an opportunity to teach a child how to live with others or how to get what she wants or needs without resorting to physical measures.
Noted by Murray A. Straus (Straus, M.A.2005, Children Should Never, Ever, Be Spanked No Matter What the Circumstances). There are many reasons why children should never be spanked or subjected to any other kind of corporal punishment. Three of the most fundamental reasons:
1. Spanking has serious harmful side effects that parents have no way of seeing, because such effects do not show up until later.
2. Spanking is no more effective than other methods of correction and control, and it is therefore unnecessary to subject children to the risk of the harmful side effects.
3. Spanking contradicts the ideal of nonviolence in the family and society. One of the main reasons children get spanked is because they act “disrespectful” toward their parents.
Yet, as Dr. T. Berry Brazelton, founder of the Child Development Unit at the Boston Children’s Hospital Medical Center, points out, “When you spank, you are not respectful of the child.” No wonder children are confused, perplexed, and bewildered. Spanking ignores the causes of the problem. For example, a child is taken to an amusement park for a day’s enjoyment. Instead of being grateful (so the parents think), the child acts up, embarrassing the parents in public. Result? The child is quickly escorted to the washroom, where it receives a spanking. But the child was “acting up” because of normal needs it had. It may have been hungry, tired, or bored. So, we punish children for being children! Sometimes it takes a little work to find the cause of a child’s “misbehavior.” If the parents are impatient, they may turn to spanking, which provides a quick, easy fix. Let’s not pretend spanking is for the child’s own good. It is not. It’s for our convenience. If spanked, the child is shortchanged, robbed of important quality time with their parent. Ironically, the more quality time is denied, the more the child will misbehave, as that is the only way it knows to get attention. I guess the moral is, we cannot correct a child’s misbehavior unless we know the cause. So, instead of hitting, let’s talk. Instead of displaying anger, let’s shower our child with love. Not very many years …show more content…
ago, some leading child-rearing experts -- even noted pediatrician Benjamin Spock -- agreed that spanking was an acceptable way to discipline children. But Dr. Spock and his colleagues have learned better. Today the American Academy of Pediatrics and other child health organizations strongly oppose physical punishment for children.
The research all points in favor of no spanking.
There are multiple other more productive ways to disciple children. Research states the goal to not control the child’s behavior but rather teach them how to control their own behavior in a positive manner.
Spanking children in school used to be acceptable. Where I attended school I remember a wood paddle hanging outside the principal’s office, visual reminder of why you did not want to get sent there. These days spanking is no longer acceptable in schools.
It will be interesting to see how this issue revolves through the decades. Baby boomers were a generation that was spanked as children; it’s now their grand kids and great grand kids that there is such controversy over spanking. Will these generations grow up to appreciate a different form of discipline or will they say I wish somebody had spanked my butt when I done
wrong.
As with many subjects spanking children will probably always remain a great topic of debate. It can not be imagined that banning the spanking children could ever truly be enforced. One either agrees with mild/ moderate spanking or they are completely against it.