Spanking Children

One article I found to be very useful in my research is based on research about “spanking”. One paragraph I would quote it, “ Have you ever spanked your child? Would you admit it if you have? For nearly half a century, child-rearing professionals in this country have preached against spanking as a method of discipline, making the taboo against it a powerful one. Not only is it physically hurtful to a child and potentially a precursor to abuse, but research shows it has negative psychological side-effects as well. Nonetheless, in real life, where real parents are dealing with real children whose behavior can be sometimes bratty, defiant and downright frustrating, children do get spanked. So how awful is it if you are one of those parents? A matter of frequency To a great degree, it depends on how often you spank. “Parents are people, after all, and people sometimes lose their temper. Parents shouldn’t feel guilty for doing that on occasion,” says San Francisco pediatrician Robert Pantell.

He is chairman of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health, which covers subjects such as spanking. Pantell, however, refuses to pin down what he means by occasional spanking; he worries that would give parents too much license. Another researcher, developmental psychologist David Riley from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, says: “One or two spankings in a childhood is not going to be damaging. But frankly,” he adds, “we don’t know the cutoff.” He pauses to let that sink in. In other words, occasional does not mean once or twice a month, or even a year. Two spankings in 10 years may not leave emotional scars. Who knows about the third or fourth? (Professionals define spanking as a swat to the rear end; hitting anywhere else is considered abusive.) Pointless punishment Researchers point to many reasons why spanking is so bad. I wouldn’t quote that long of a paragraph of course, however breaking certain, important parts out of it to quote for example “For nearly half a century, child-rearing professionals in this country have preached against spanking as a method of discipline, making the taboo against it a powerful one.” (Meltz 1991) Another one would be . “Parents are people, after all, and people sometimes lose their temper. Parents shouldn’t feel guilty for doing that on occasion,” says San Francisco pediatrician Robert Pantell.

This paragraph rephrased would be like this: Without a doubt parents have to admit, no matter how difficult it is that they probably have spanked their child. Most parents thing of a simple tap on the butt being ok, however depending on how often you do it, is where the bigger problem arises. Spanking is abuse and it causes problems such as more destructive problems later in life. One big problem on spanking is “occasional spanking”. How often do you spank you child, if you do? One, two or even three times a month, however, where is the cut off. Spanking is caused by parents being fused, or a loss of temper. Parents need a breather sometimes and often, spanking is a way of breaking their temper. Although you may admit to spanking, don’t feel regret it. Just learn that any spanking anywhere else on the body, such as face, chest, or hands, is abuse and is not tolerated. Remember to take your anger elsewhere and not on your child.