Spanking children is a controversial issue. Opinions
vary as to whether or not spanking is an effective discipline. Corporal punishment is deliberate infliction of pain
to deter misbehavior. Spanking is one form of corporal punishment. Spanking
children has fallen in disfavor among many parents. Researchers studying its
effectiveness find there are many disadvantages and a few advantages.
Disadvantages
Gabe Griffin, a Pediatric Psychologist in West Michigan, warns that spanking
can get out of hand. He asserts that parents sometimes think that their
spanking is performed in a controlled manner, but frequently it's not well-controlled,
especially in the heat of anger. He believes parents can better improve
children’s behavior by teaching and praising
them. Time-outs and removing privileges are
often successful, according to Griffin, but they focus on misbehavior. Griffin
believes it’s preferable to focus on good behavior and praise children when they
do it correctly.
Dr. Peter Newell, coordinator of End Punishment of Children, maintains that
there is one important argument against spanking children. Dr. Newell says,
"All people have the right to protection of their physical integrity, and
children are people too."
According to authorities from
The Natural Child Project, there are
compelling disadvantages to spanking children.
1.
Research shows a connection between spanking children and
aggressive behavior of those children when they become adults.
2.
Some children who misbehave do so in response to neglected
needs, such as sufficient sleep, nutrition, and a healthy, happy environment. Such
children crave their parent’s time and attention. Spanking children for
responding instinctively to neglect seems unwarranted.
3.
Spanking children prevents them from learning humane
conflict resolution. It makes children fearful and angry, and isn’t effective
in the long term. Educator John Holt summed it up in saying, "When we make
a child afraid, we stop learning dead in its tracks."
4.
Many people justify spanking with the Bible quote,
“Spare the rod and spoil the child.” The
rod in connection to parenting is mentioned in the Book of Proverbs, attributed
to the cruel Solomon. The Gospels, however, contain the teachings of Jesus
Christ who advocated mercy, non-violence, and love, not punishment.
5.
Spanking children only produces short-termed
cooperation based on fear. Spanking negatively affects parent - child bonding.
Good behavior should be facilitated by bonds of mutual respect and love.
Discipline done with respect and love, rather than spanking, promotes good
behavior that can last a lifetime.
6.
Tom Johnson wrote in his book, The Sexual Dangers of Spanking Children (2002), “Since children are sexual beings and since
the buttocks are a sexual region of the body, we should question the propriety
of slapping children’s buttocks. We generally understand that fondling or
caressing a child’s buttocks is a sexual offense (even if the child does not
understand it to be so). We also know that slapping an adult’s buttocks is a
sexual offense (even if the offender does not get sexual pleasure from doing
so). The question, then, is why slapping a child’s buttocks is not considered a
sexual offense.”
7.
Even
moderate spanking can be physically harmful. Infliction of blows to the lower
end of the spinal column can injure a child.
8.
Spanking
sends children the message that inflicting pain on someone smaller and less powerful is
acceptable. Such a message can motivate children to hit smaller and younger
children.
9.
Children
model their parent’s behavior. If children observe their parents solving
problems through hitting, rather than through calm, reasonable, humane ways,
they will never learn humane conflict resolution.
10. Many parents never learned in childhood
that there are positive ways to relate to children. If parents are unaware of
alternative discipline, spanking can escalate and become more frequent and
dangerous.
Advantages
Despite evidence supporting the negative impact of
spanking children, there are those who believe spanking children is effective
with positive outcomes. Studies done by Marjorie Gunnoe, a Calvin College
Psychology Professor, find that some individuals who recall spankings when they
were children tended to perform better academically in school, and tended to be
more optimistic and charitable than those who didn’t received spankings on
their backsides. Gunnoe’s studies, it must be noted, contradict theories that
children who are spanked are more aggressive than those who aren’t.
Gunnoe asserts, however, that her findings should
not be considered a call for spanking children, but the findings should be
taken into consideration in the event that lawmakers consider banning spanking.
She claims that her findings should be taken into account by people who want to
legally limit how parents decide to discipline their children. She claims not
to promote spanking but feels that there is no hard evidence to make spanking
on the backside illegal.
In conclusion, there are varied opinions and
research findings about corporal punishment. Parents should consider pros and
cons of any form of punishment before deciding how to discipline their
children.
