Spanking

Spanking is one of the ways that some parents think would help their child differentiate between right and wrong and make them disciplined. Children are often hit by their parents for aggressive behavior in their early age. On the other hand, some parents and professionals believe that spanking will not produce effective results in the long run. This debate on the spanking of children tends to come up every time the topic arises among the researchers. Michele Knox and Jason Brouwer cite Webster 's Dictionary & Thesaurus 2002 as defining the term spanking as "to strike with the flat of the hand; to smack" (341). Corporal punishment is one of the most extreme forms of spanking in order to maintain a child 's discipline. Wendy Walsh further defines the term corporal punishment as "the use of force with the intention of causing a child to experience pain, but not injury, for purpose of correction or control of the child 's behavior" (81). Many parents believe that corporal punishment is an acceptable form of disciplinary action to inhibit the child 's misbehavior. Spanking may get quick results, but it does not reduce the undesired behavior that parents seek in return. In fact, Knox and Brouwer point out that according to Center for Effective Discipline, 2008, 23 nations have outlawed the use or corporal punishment against young children (343). However, there is a high percentage of professionals who recommend corporal punishment under certain circumstances. For example, Knox and Brouwer stated that McCormick’s research in 1992 claimed that "70% of family physicians and 59% of pediatricians recommend the use of corporal punishment under specific conditions" (343). Though, this research was done decades ago, parents are now trying several ways to deal with their child in response to antisocial behaviors. Corporal punishment is not an effective method of manipulating a child’s behavior. In fact it casts only a temporary effect on the child, and not only does it emphasize

Cited: Kazdin, Alan E., and Benjet, Corina. "Spanking Children: Evidence and Issues." Current Directions in Pyschological Science 12.3 (2003): 99-103. Print. Knox, Michele and Brouwe, Jason. "Early Childhood Professionals ' Recommendations for Spanking Young Children." Journal of Child Adolescent Trauma 1.4 (2008): 341-348. Print. Walsh, Wendy. "Spankers and Nonspankers: Where They Get Information on Spanking*." Family Relations 51 (2002): 81-88. Print.