What is corporal punishment? This is a hard question because there are so many different opinions. Some say it’s a spanking on the behind of a person mostly toddlers. Others say it’s hitting a child with a belt. "Corporal punishment is the use of physical force with the intention of causing a child to experience pain, but not injury for the purpose of correction or control of the child’s behavior" (Donnelly, Straus, 1994, 4). Both of the cases stated above are part of corporal punishment one is just worse than the other. The major problem seems to be drawing the line between corporal punishment and child abuse. As the child rate in our country grows, teaching a child right from wrong is the most important tasks facing parents and educators. That is why corporal punishment is not always best. Sometimes it just takes a little talking for a child to understand. As a society we should know the effects corporal punishment have on a child as they get older, so some parents will at least cut back, if not stop. "People are more likely to be hit, beat up, physically injured, or even killed in their own homes by another family member than anywhere else and by anyone else in our society" (Gelles, 1979, 11). Corporal punishment has a lot of effects and produce problems on a child, and society will find out just what those effects are through research.
Corporal punishment on children is a huge problem in our society because it fosters aggression and violence in children. "Physical punishment actually teaches youngsters to use violence themselves, both in and outside their families" (Gordon, 1991, 71). This is because a child sees his/her parent using corporal punishment on them to make them do something or to get their point across. As the child gets older he/she may begin acting aggressively towards other children to get their way or make the other child feel less superior. The more corporal punishment is used on a child the more aggression and violence build up in that child. It builds up because the child knows he/she can't hit their parent so the anger just builds up until he/she finds someone they can hit. Another major problem with corporal punishment is that in some odd way some children especially boys grow up thinking hitting is okay. "Husbands who experienced severe violence at home as a child have a 600 percent greater rate of wife-beating than husbands who came from non-violent homes" (Gordon, 1991, 73). This is wrong because those parents who do use corporal punishment on their child are taking away their child innocence, and may be leading that child towards jail in the future.
The rationale for what affects does corporal punishment has on a child as they get older is very broad. Corporal punishment teaches children the wrong lesson and this is a major problem. It teaches them that when they do something wrong corporal punishment should be used instead of talking. Corporal punishment degrades the child. It makes the child feel he/she are not worthy of talk. Corporal punishment is very aggressive. The child grows up taking out their anger by hitting others. Self esteem is another issue of corporal punishment. A girl is afraid he spouse will hit her and some girls may think it is okay, and a boy is afraid he may hit his spouse the same way he was hit. Corporal punishment could be harmless. It could just be the right thing to put a child in line. "The law and the nation’s courts have been consistent supporters of physical abuse, and the rationales that have sustained some of these legal justifications for continued violence against children need to be examined also" (Greven, 1990, 45). We as a society need to step in and speak for those children who are receiving corporal punishment and let parents know there is a better way. Corporal punishment has a lot of rationale but in the end it’s all based on the child and the parent.
The problem with corporal punishment is that people don't realize it's more than broken body parts, bruises, and hurt feelings. "There is a compelling evidence that physically abused children also tend to suffer from serious psychological problems and are at greater risk of being involved in crime" (Straus, 1994, 67). Not only is the parent abusing the child, but the parent is also setting their child up for failure. The more corporal punishment a child gets the higher risk him/her have of being involved in crime. This becomes a problem for everyone because the crime will be done to society whether that's robbing, stealing, murder, etc. The more a parent uses corporal punishment on a child the higher he/she is against society because the child feels if their own parent will hit them, what will society do to them. Now corporal punishment begins to affect everyone when the parent takes that first swing at their child.
Psychologically a child can’t handle corporal punishment. A child’s mind is one of the best things a child has. Once a parent uses corporal punishment it hurts the child physically, but a sense of their spirit is gone because the one that should be loving them and protecting them is the one doing most of the harm. Children are a blessing and to mistreat them takes a lot of hate and people who do should not have the right to raise a child. Corporal punishment has a lot to do with spirit. Spiritually it takes a lot of negative energy from the parent to keep using corporal punishment on someone that can’t do anything in return to protect themselves. Psychologically it takes a lot of positive energy from the child to go through this and still have that courage to love and respect their parent that is doing all this harm to them in the first place.
Mr. Thorman stated "abused children’s low self-esteem is also related to the mistreatment they have undergone" (Thorman, 1980, 19). When I child goes through a lot of mistreatment it brings them done and they begin to let people take advantage of them which could lead to a lot of psychological problems. Some of these problems could be depression, abuse issues such as child abuse on their own children or abuse on their future spouse. Parents who use corporal punishment on their children are often mean to their child. They feel their child is not normal. This affects a child very badly because love should start at home first. When love is not there a child will begin to do anything to get it. "The abused child may have great difficulty developing positive self-esteem" (Thorman, 1980, 19). When corporal punishment is used on a child their self-esteem start to slowly drift away. The child starts to lose confidence, image, and a voice. They start to want to drift away so their parents won’t hit them anymore. A child that has gone through a lot of corporal punishment tends to be quite, scared, and not seen around people especially their parents. Corporal punishment is something that scares a child and makes them scared to try. A child who has gone through corporal punishment tries to avoid punishment, and try to avoid making mistakes. This affects a child because corporal punishment is given when they do wrong or make mistakes. This makes the child dealing with corporal punishment scared to do anything and they try to do as little as possible so they don’t make as many mistakes. Mr. Thorman is trying to raise the rate so people will care about violence against children in America
Corporal punishment is everywhere and has been around for years. There are a few solutions to help corporal punishment. One solution is to have a time in the household where everyone can say what they really feel in a respectable manner and not get in trouble for it. This gives the child a chance to express how they feel without constantly complaining to their parents. this also brings less stress to the parents because they don't have to walk in the house hearing arguing and complaining. This means the child and parent gets a chance to relax because they all know there will be a time where they all can share their thoughts and feelings. The parent is not as stressed as before, and the corporal punishment the parent uses on the child for making noise in the house is gone because the child is now quiet and knows they can talk to their parents about anything. Studies have proven that "Sometimes giving children special time for sharing thoughts and feelings about their difficult times is comforting to both of them" (Goldman, 2005, 172). When the child is calm and comfortable the parent gets the same feeling.
In conclusion, No one wants to be hit in any form, so don’t do it to anyone else especially a child. No one wants a child to give up because they are our future. "Children need boundaries and structure to make it in this world. Setting boundaries involves setting safe, consistent, limits, on children’s behaviors" (Bailey, 1994, 20). That doesn’t mean in order to set those boundaries and enforce them a parent needs to use corporal punishment. Corporal punishment affects a child in many ways some good and some bad. The major affects comes in when a parent is constantly using corporal punishment instead of taking the time to talk to their children. The literature was a major help through the process and has made this research a big success. Now the corporal punishment is out, we as a community, state, and country need to figure out how to get it under control. Corporal punishment is slowly but surely sneaking up on society, so before it takes a hold on society why not put a stop to it NOW.
Bibliography
Books:
Bailey, B (1994). There's gotta be a better way: discipline that woks! Orlando , Florida
Gelles, Richard (1979). Family violence. Beverly Hills , California
Gelles, R, & Straus, M (1995). Physical violence in american families. New Brunswick , New Jersey
Gordan, T (1991). Discipline that works. New York , New York
Greven, P (1990). Spare the child. New York , New York
Thorman, G (1980). Family violence. Springfield , Illinois
Journal Articles:
Straus, M (1991).Discipline and deviance: physical punishment of children and violence and other crime in adulthood. JSTOR: Social Problems. 38, 2
No comments:
Post a Comment