Spanking

Introduction

Should we be legally required to spare the rod? Will that result in spoiling the child? The debate over whether or not to spank a child has gone on for decades. Any ethical subject regarding children is among the most complicated, but this issue, with its religious foundations and frightening implications, is ranked very high among issues that are most talked about regarding ethical childcare and parenting practices.

Why Spanking is not an Affective form of Discipline?

Some researchers fear that spanking will result in traumatized children. They think that children who are spanked will be more likely to act out aggressively, suffer from depression, or endure many other psychological and social problems. Some researchers also believe that a child who is spanked may become a violent or psychologically damaged adult. Others believe that these theories and findings are results of seriously flawed testing. There is also a common fear that spanking will go too far, leading to abuse. It is a logical fear. Many parents spank their children when they are frustrated or angry which can lead to a child being harmed. Some parents choose to use an object for spanking, such as a paddle or belt. Using objects can make it difficult to tell the force of the spanking, leading to excessive force and bruising or even more serious injuries. But there are those who believe that this too is a flawed argument, because parents who take spanking too far are usually parents who are also abusive through other means of discipline, which would mean that spanking is not the cause of the abuse but a symptom.

There are many forms of discipline out there, and there are many opinions on these things. Even though Spanking is not an effective form of discipline seen by some people, there are other forms of discipline, because there is a difference between beating and spanking a child and time outs, toy removals, and canceled allowances can work instead. A little spanking does not hurt anything, but the other discipline options should be used first before any physical disciplines take effect. There are differences between beating and spanking a child. Beating is defined as whipping or thrashing in punishment or an act of repeated hitting or striking (Farlex, 2010). According to Farlex (2010), Spanking is the number of slaps on the buttocks as punishment for children. Beating leads to child abuse because a parent or guardian does not know when to stop. They think beating a child repeatedly will make a child listen to them more. This is not true. When a child gets a spanking it is on the buttocks and it is only a few swats, not repeated hitting.

It is certainly appropriate to not allow your child to cause physical harm to yourself or others by physically stopping him from carrying out an act. An appropriate response would be holding him as gently as possible away from you or from whoever he is trying to hurt and continuing to hold him until he has ...