Child spanking free essay sample

According to an analysis, Julie Crandall confirms â€Å"that sixty-five percent of Americans approve of spanking children, a rate that has been steady since 1990. † As time goes by all you hear is how spanking fixes the problem, how you set your kids straight with a little spank, or how spanking and abuse are totally the opposite, or how a spank shapes your kids into good character, but what if spanking is not really the solution to your kids misbehavior, what if spanking actually makes things worse for you and your child, how bout if a harmless little spank can turn into an abuse, how bout if spanking actually effects you child’s character and being, and you, as a parent, are the one to blame. The cases for and against spanking of young children are many and diverse. But the main issue is the level of correctness that the act of spanking can reach. The issue with spanking is that many Americans do think it is needed to raise a child the â€Å"right way†, and some believe it is an act of abuse. There are controversies that say that spanking is one of the most destructive things a parent can do to their kids, and there are those who say that spanking can sometimes be a good thing because it builds up strong character. There are other ways to correct an unacceptable behavior from a child. A parent must decide if spanking is an option. There are long-term effects that spanking can do to your child, a study at Tulane University shows that parents that spanked their kids at the age of three become more aggressive when they enter the age five. Signs of aggression included behaviors such as arguing or screaming; cruelty, bullying or meanness to others; destroys things; fighting and frequently threatening others. The study asked about 2,500 mothers how often they spanked their child in the past month and they also asked questions about their kids balanced of aggression, and eight parenting risk factors. Almost half of the mothers said no spanking in the previous month, while 27. 9 percent informed spanking one or two times, and 26. 5 percent reported spanking more than twice. Mothers with more parenting risk factors were more likely to spank repeatedly. This study also shows that even the littlest of physical punishment can still increase in aggression in the kid’s behavior. Other studies show that spanking is needed to discipline a child because without it, a child knows he or she has gotten away with misbehavior. On the other hand, there are psychologist like Marjorie Gunnoe that says â€Å"kids who get the occasional smack on the rump before the age of 6 grow up to be more successful adults† and a child-development specialists, who contend that â€Å"a parent who uses physical punishment is a parent who has failed. † Although there are numerous ways to discipline children, spanking is included in the different ways. There have been numerous articles and political debates about the affects of spanking. Spanking is considered a form of corporal punishment. Although there is several ways to discipline children, spanking is included in the different ways. I believe that there are several other ways a parent can approach their child without any physical contact. However, I am not saying that spanking shouldn’t be part of the parent’s discipline choices, but it should be the last option on the list. The issue of physical punishment is an existing issue. The issue strikes an emotional effect for many who were or weren’t punished by spanking during their childhood. Spanking usually focuses on the effect or other discipline ways it will have on children. Spanking has been going on probably since parents needed to find a way to punish their children in a â€Å"civilized† way. Hitting a child causes more behavioral problems than it solves. Spanking is well known all over the universe, parents use this as a strategy to stop the child from misbehaving. Spanking can be a serious issue that can lead into abuse. In Michael J Marshall book, he states â€Å"Spanking has been found to increase aggression in children. Cases of poor self-image and depression have been traced to childhood corporal punishment. † Instead of solving the issue with your child being disobedience, you are actually building up conflict in your child’s life as they grow up. On the other hand, Daniel Dessinger claims, â€Å"After instructing and reaffirming your child, a spanking is payment. It teaches the child about sowing and reaping. It teaches the child that decisions have consequences†. In other words spanking is still necessary to show the child that there are still consequences for their actions. The issue is such a problem not only because view is divided on the argument. Fewer people are admitting to the act because they are embarrassed or for person reasons. This is leading to biased statistics that spreads the idea that spanking is a bad thing. Polls show that the use of some light physical punishment is acceptable to most people. However less people are admitting to spanking their children. Dr. Robert Murray, a professional in the medical field, says the social disapproval surrounding spanking is healthy. â€Å"When there was a social norm of spanking, it shielded abuse,† he says. This being possible because parents don’t want to admit to spanking, that means that they are less likely to do it. The possibility that is most striking is that the parents casually punishing their kids may be in for some legal activity in the form of child abuse lawsuits. Many people still believe that it is perfectly normal to spank a child lightly and with good discipline procedures. This is most probably correct because polls show that most people would discipline their children physically in â€Å"self-control†. A sociologist named Murray Straus who’s been studying the corporal punishment found out that kids who were spanked, or had any physical punishment had a five-point lower IQ score. There was also a study that Straus took to the United States, he evaluated numbers of children between the ages of 2-9 who were spanked and not spanked. Then later on he found out that those kids who were not spanked scored better on achievement test then those who were spanked. The problem with spanking is that many parents believe it is the only way to make kids listen and change their behavior. Dessigner states, â€Å"Despite its common acceptance, spanking is a less effective strategy than timeout or removal of privileges for reducing undesired behavior in children. † In other words, spanking is only going to stop the child from misbehaving at that very moment it isn’t going to stop them from misbehaving all the time, so then that is when spanking becomes familiar with the parent and child. I strongly consider that spanking is not necessary, at all. As a child growing up, I’ve been spanked here and there. I think we all have been but there are other ways other than laying a hand on your child. However, Spanking can lead to abuse which is very common, especially in a child lives. The main problem with spanking is that it may increase the child’s belief that violence is a good way to solve problems or the spanking will instill the child with feelings of rebelliousness and anger towards the parent. I believe that if parents will use spanking as a discipline method they should first include right learning with love before and after the spanking. Several people believe that a quick will send their child a clear message and is powerful discipline when included with loving comments. I disagree that disciplining a child with spanking is all right when nothing else will work, or when the parent has had enough. This could lead to abuse and/or psychosocially damaging discipline periods. Unfortunately, lots of parents have inherited unwise discipline methods that rely too much on force and not on proper approach. It is of the greatest importance that parents consider their children’s emotional, intellectual, and physical state of being especially near the time the spanking happens.