Is It OK To Spank Kids

Parents have several disciplining techniques to choose from when their child misbehaves. However, when a parent uses spanking as a disciplining technique, they are frowned upon by onlookers who have concerns about the child being spanked, and about the spanking potentially leading to child abuse. Needless to say, many years ago spanking was an acceptable from of discipline. Unfortunately, since the 1970s spanking is unacceptable and in some cases equated to child abuse. What is spanking? Is there a relationship between corporal punishment, child abuse and spanking?

Disciplining is a part of parenting. Selecting which form of discipline to administer is also a part of parenting. Each child is an individual and it is the parent’s responsibility to administer discipline. It is also the parent’s decision to select the most appropriate discipline method and spanking is a personal choice that should be considered as an alternative form of discipline. I contend, when administered, appropriately spanking is an effective form

Today, our children are taught at a very early age to report abuse. There is zero tolerance for child abuse. Abuse is not a social norm, and it must be reported and stopped immediately before another child is harmed. There are some activists that do not see a difference between physical abuse and spanking. In their eyes, spanking (a tap to the posterior) is child abuse. Anti-spanking activists propose the United States of America follow Canada and Sweden’s lead and ultimately ban spanking.

Parents who were spanked as children tend to spank as parents. Parents hear all kinds of disciplining advice, not only from experts, but also from friends, relatives, and sometimes-even strangers. Hyman’s The Case Against Spanking stress the alternatives to spanking, while Dobson’s The New Dare to Discipline emphasizes ‘tough love’. What is a parent to do when their beloved toddler is misbehaving? Most parents tend to fall back on how they were raised. If the experience was favorable and spanking was used, it is not uncommon for the parent to use spanking as a disciplining method.

As suggested by anti-spankers, alternatives to spanking include rewards, feedback, punishing, time-out, and removal of privileges. Society has learned that removing privileges i.e., incarceration does not always work, hence, repeat offenders. Unfortunately, these alternatives do not work well with toddlers. It is not a surprise to see why research supports the fact that toddlers are spanked more than any other age group (Hyman 16). As a parent, raising a toddler, you are limited to the type of discipline that you can use effectively.

ü Proverbs 13:24 “He who spares his rod hates his son: But he who loves him disciplines him promptly.”

The issue of corporal punishment commonly referred to as spanking is one of the most widely discussed and controversial debates. The primary objective for disciplining a child is to teach what is right from that which is not. Parents including myself, teachers, and child-rearing experts all struggle to find common ground on the spanking issue. Over the years, societal views in regards to spanking have changed. Unfortunately, neither side (pro-spanking or anti-spanking) can agree on what are the appropriate forms of discipline.

Rosellini, Lynn. “When To Spank.” U.S. News & World Report 124 (1998): 52-57.

Some topics in this essay:
Ok Spank, Canada Sweden’s, According Hyman, Treatment Act, James Dobson, Holy Bible, Dare Discipline, Spanking Parents, Irwin Hyman, Baumrind Casually, child abuse, form discipline, physical abuse, ü proverbs, misbehaved child, spanking disciplining, parents spanked, discipline children, parents spank, abuse spanking, child abuse spanking, relevant research support, form discipline children, causally relevant research, research support blanket,