Should Parents be Allowed to Spank Their Kids? Essay Example

importance undivided attention from their parents. Currently, parents are very committed with their personal issues leaving limited time for their children. For this reason, it is hence not fair for a parent to punish his/her child who is responding in a funny way simply because her basic needs have been neglected. For such a case, punishment is unjust and ineffective in the long run.

Through punishment, a child ends up getting distracted from learning on ways of resolving conflicts through humane ways as they are more effective. When a child is made afraid, the child’s brain is affected and learning stops. A child who is punished eventually gets occupied with negative feelings such as fantasies of revenge and anger. In such a way, a child is deprived the chance of getting to learn effective methods to use when resolving a conflict at hand. Therefore, a child who is punished does not learn a lot on the ways of preventing similar occurrences in the future. Spanking your child is a way of teaching him/her that problems are only resolved effective when violence is used (Benjet & Alan 209). Children will eventually find themselves hitting their friends whenever they find no interest in what their friends are doing. Punishing a child physically can be better termed as a form of bullying, hence sending a message to your child that it is the best way to deal with a person whenever he/she wrongs.

When punishment is used to correct behavior, there is no impact unless in the case where the person punishing is present. A child will hence do all he/she wants whenever the chances of getting detected are very

minimal. Punishment hence makes children try their best to avoid getting detected by a way of avoiding their parents. When detected, a child will try and cheat in order to avoid getting punished. Punished hence leads to immoral deeds such as cheating which is a trick to avoiding punishment (Benjet & Alan 211).

Through punishment, the bond between a child and his/her parent becomes weak. This is the case since according to the nature of human beings; it is not possible to have love towards a person who spanks you. The spirit of cooperating with your children only arises when there is a strong bond which is based on feelings of respect and love. Punishment only seems to produce beneficial results based on the feeling of fear. This however does not last for long. At some point, the child becomes old enough to resist punishment from his parents (Gershoff 31). There will be no love or respect between a child and his parents. In contrast, cooperation which is based on love and respect will be permanent and a child will hence get along with his/her parents till old age.

For a child who gets disciplined through spanking, frustration and anger gets stored deep inside her since there is no way he/she can safely express it. Angry teenagers are not born in that way rather they acquire it as they grow. Anger that has been growing inside a child for quite long can come out as frustration to the parents as the child feels that he is strong and old enough to show this rage. Even though physical punishment produces good behavior during early years, a lot of

cost is incurred by parents and the society as the child grows older and stronger (Benjet & Alan 216).

On the other hand, there are helpful benefits associated with spanking your child. Before a child is spanked, the parent should first issue a warning preventing the child from doing a certain thing (Gershoff 31). If the child proceeds, spanking will be allowed as the child will understand that he did a bad thing to deserve such a disciplinary action. When done in the correct manner, spanking is effective and also safe. In disciplining their children, parents should first do things in a safe and gentle way thus ensuring that a child is aware of what is expected from him/her. Spanking will later be used to those kids who do not cooperate. However, it should be done in a gentle way (Gershoff 31).

Conclusion

As illustrated above, majority of the points are against children spanking their children. I am hence supporting the argument that parents should not be allowed to spank their children. Instead, they should look for better ways of disciplining their children.

Works cited

• Benjet, Corina, and Alan E. Kazdin. "Spanking children: The controversies, findings, and new directions." Clinical psychology review 23.2 (2003): 197-224.
• Gershoff, Elizabeth T. "More harm than good: A summary of scientific research on the intended and unintended effects of corporal punishment on children." Law & Contemp. Probs. 73 (2010): 31.