Should We Spank Our Children Essay

This is the age old question that is so frequently asked that no one has a true answer. You have the people on one side saying that it will scar our children and nothing good can come from it, and you have the other half that believe it is the best way to discipline our children. So who do we believe? In my opinion I believe parents have the right to discipline their children, as long as it doesn’t surpass child abuse. I understand smacking your kid on the butt, but not on their arms or other extremities. In Introduction to Psychology by Charles Stangor, he explains that there are four different parenting styles; you have the authoritative parents who believe that their child will learn right from wrong through mature behavior and reason. Then, you have the authoritative parents that believe spanking or hitting their child is they way to teach them to behave, they also go by a very strict set of rules. Next, there is a permissive parent, who has very few rules and don’t really attention to their own kids. Last, you have the uninvolved parents who just leave their children to do whatever they want. The main ones that oppose and support spanking are the authoritative and the authoritarian (Stangor 184-185).
The even thought of a child getting spanked makes them uneasy. These people believe that spanking is 100% not effective and shouldn’t be done. People argue that spanking children will lead to the thinking that violence acceptable, and it can possibly cause them to have more violent tendencies and aggression (Finley). When arguing about spanking our children the opposing people bring up the subject of how spanking can be confusing to the child. What if they get spanked for hitting someone? How is that supposed to teach them not to hit, when they are being hit for doing that action? Kids can be confused from that and not be able to tell what is right and wrong