Spanking is a form of discipline that has been around forever. While it is legal and considered as an acceptable form of punishment in some communities, the negative consequences of spanking greatly outweigh temporary results from this style of discipline.
According to the Journal of Family Psychology, the average 4-year-old is hit 936 times a year. When research continuously supports the statement that spanking your kids doesn’t succeed as a disciplinary action, society should no longer view spanking as an immediate reaction.
A 2012 article by Time Magazine reported that “harsh punishments can wind up backfiring because they can foster lying in children who are desperate to avoid being spanked.”
The article also said that 80 studies about the effectiveness of physical punishment found that none of the effects were positive associations.
There is a thin line between disciplining a child by spanking and child abuse. Universal acceptance of spanking follows three rules: no spanking with a foreign object, such as a belt or buckles; one should not hit a bare bottom, only through the clothes; there is no need than for more than one spank, anything more is excessive. In general, crossing the line between spanking and child abuse includes bruising or marks left behind.
“I believe a swat on the hand or to the butt to indicate to a child that they’re misbehaving is needed,” said media production senior Megan Stowe. “I don’t believe getting a belt or anything. That’s excessive force. You’re already stronger than them, you shouldn’t need a belt or fist to prove that.”
According to CNN, the recent indictment following NFL player Adrian Peterson on child abuse charges led to debating whether hitting, spanking or other forms of corporal punishment are justified or effective when it comes to disciplining children. However, the differences in cultural, regional and generational attitudes keep spanking acceptable in modern society.
“I don’t believe spanking is ever really necessary. I would prefer to use my hand instead of a belt so I could control the impact of a spanking,” said mechanical engineering senior DeMarlon Carter.
People are more likely to discipline their children the same way they were raised. If one was spanked as a child, that individual is more likely to spank their children as a from of discipline. This form of punishment that was learned from culture is believed to be acceptable, but when research comes back saying violence is the worst way to change behavior patterns in children, now is the time to change our own behaviors in discipline.
Spanking typically comes from anger. It is an immediate response to dissatisfaction with a child’s misbehavior and no one stops to calm down before unleashing that anger on a child.
“I believe there is a thin line between discipline and abuse,” said political science senior Clement Agho-Otoghile. “Abuse is defined by physical harm and trauma caused by violent actions.”
If the issue was not perceived as one that was derived from culture and instead looked at as a cycle of abuse, the conversation changes.
According to reader responses in the New York Times, the debate is split.
“There’s a big difference between an old-fashioned beating and mild spanking,” one reader said. “A lot of my friends got the tar beaten out of them and had the bruises to prove it. That’s abuse.”
Another reader wrote signifying possible change.
“I was turned in by my best friend to social services,” the reader said. She said she “didn’t know how to discipline in any other way than (she) had been treated,” citing the incident as a reason to never hit her child under any circumstances.
A punishment that results in injury, such as a bruise, welt, swelling or anything that requires medical attention is considered abusive.
WJLA reported that 39 countries prohibit corporal punishment in all settings, including at home. Countries such as Sweden, Germany, South Sudan and Turkmenistan all prohibit corporal punishment. In a report from UNICEF, research found that people with less education and wealth are more likely to be supportive of corporal punishment.
Anyone is more than willing to intervene when a woman is struck in public by her husband, yet, when a child is struck by a parent in public, people turn a blind eye. Society has entered an era where spanking, or any form of physical discipline is no longer needed with other non-violent techniques available at parents’ disposals.
All parents want better for their children. Today’s parents are turning away from the practice of spanking and corporal punishment regardless of culture, religion or background. The number of parents that still do practice corporal punishment continues to decline.
For now, many seem to welcome the opportunity to have this discussion on corporal punishment, citing the conversation long overdue. The important rule of factor for parents who do practice spanking is to do so in a clear-minded state rather than as an angry response to misbehavior.
Opinion columnist Gemrick Curtom is a public relations senior and may be reached at [email protected].
America’s Public School Spanking Paddles make Adrian Peterson’s
switch look like a wet noodle, heavily associated with porn!
Poll: For most Americans, spanking is OK, implements are not http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nation-world/sns-rt-us-usa-nfl-spanking-20141001,0,1692540.story … … …
America’s Public School Spanking Paddles make Adrian Petersons switch look like a wet noodle! http://www.hrw.org/reports/2008/08/19/violent-education-0 … …
10/1/2014 HS Student bruised by School
Spanking Sadistic School Punishment of Children funded by taxpayers! http://www.fox16.com/story/d/story/klrt/14434/-gTbudKiT0K2gk12TcnBhg
After Being Bruised, Morrilton High School Student Wants School Spankings to
Stop
U.S. House Education Committee Chairman John Kline R-MN MUST send HR 5005 “Ending Corporal Pain Punishment of Schoolchildren” to full vote of Congress! http://shar.es/1aVcBN
WATCH 3 min. trailer for Documentary Movie “The Board of Education” by
Jared Abrams Exposing Violent Pain Punishment of children, even against parents’
wishes, in Public Schools based on where they live, protected by law https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vt4v7KsFi8
20,000 children seek emergency medical treatment from school corporal pain
punishment each year. Proposed Federal bill H.R. 5005 “The Ending Corporal
Punishment in Schools Act” is languishing in Congress NOW for the 3rd time
thanks to U.S. House Education Committee Chairman John Kline’s R-MN belief that
our nation’s children’s constitutional rights to equal protection against
assault in school is a “States’ Rights Issue”! http://hrw.org/reports/2008/08/19/violent-education-0
… … …
Every 20 seconds of the school day, a child is beaten by an educator. Every 4
minutes, an educator beats a child so severely that she seeks medical attention.
According to conservative reporting to the U.S. Department of Education 223,190
students were the victims of institutionalized violence at least once in the
2006-2007 school year, of which over 20,000 sought medical attention. [source:
Office for Civil Rights at the US Dept. of Education; Congressional Testimony]
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/anthony-adams/223190-kids-legally-beate_b_559428.html
7/17/2014 USATODAY: “As more schools ban paddling, others defend it”
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/07/17/school-district-ban-paddling-rural-ar
eas-defend/12421465/?siteID=je6NUbpObpQ-2SEPz24l_iHlt9LBNmsTLQ
Top 5
states for corporal punishment in schools
Mississippi … 41,146 (students
paddled).
Texas …. 37,290.
Alabama … 30,061.
Arkansas …
24,490.
Tennessee … 16,645.
Source: Department of Education’s Civil
Rights Data Base, 2009-2010
Child Abuse in Schools Protected by Law with tacit approval of Congress and
the U.S. Supreme Court 3/2014 Federal Appeals Court
Rejects Latest Corporal Punishment Challenge http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/school_law/2014/03/appeals_court_rejects_latest_c.html?r=17
Please join 6,000+ by Signing and Sharing Petition Congress to End Corporal
Pain Punishment of Children in Schools HR 5005 http://chn.ge/QaERCo
yawwnnnnnnn, non issue
I think the bigger question is, why is it considered acceptable to hit kids in private areas? To me it really seems like a mild form of sexual assault. I don’t object to the idea of corporal punishment in general but the most popular targeting choices seem entirely inappropriate.
Agreed! I wish more adults would point that out. It can cause lifelong harm when it goes unnoticed: kids know that being humiliated and touched that way feels inappropriate, but won’t say anything for fear of being blamed, laughed at, or punished further. It’s especially hard to handle when no one else seems to think it’s wrong.
What does corporal punishment teach a child other than that violence is an appropriate way to solve problems? Why not model good behavior yourself? Use your words. Explain to the child what they did wrong and why they shouldn’t do it. Do you want your child to obey because they understand and respect you or because they fear you?
ITT: A bunch bleeding-hearts try to explain away corporal punishment.
I guess you’d rather your children act like the brats you currently are.
Name-calling (“brat”) is a form of verbal violence and is unacceptable, especially toward children. Please don’t do it.
It is wrong to hit kids in private areas. My mom whipped my bare penis with a belt, and it really messed me up. No child should have to stand so much pain.