Posted: June 5th, 2023

Against Spanking of Children

Against Spanking of Children
The article holds that spanking has a negative long-term effect on children. I agree with this conclusion since undesirable behaviors are noticed in children that underwent spanking in their early days. These behaviors can be examined under three dimensions including non-compliance over a short-term, non-compliance over a long-term, and aggression. A research conducted at Tulane University attested that spanking children determines their behaviors in the long run. It came out clear that nearly 2,500 children spanked at age of three became more aggressive at age five (Park, 2010). Undesirable behaviors are often noticed in children over a long-term period having undergone spanking by their parents during their early age.
Spanking is never a wise idea for most parents. Spanking tends to approve that using aggression is always right. Whenever a parent uses physical punishment in attempts to show a child that he or she has done a mistake, a message is delivered to the child that whoever appears stronger and bigger should decide all that is wrong or right. This means that a child will be able to determine what is wrong or right when they become stronger. This can contribute to elder abuse that is constantly becoming prevalent in today’s society. For instance, a research conducted in twenty cities in 2009 proved that at five years of age, spanked children were more likely to become defiant, frustrated, show temper tantrums, and demand immediate satisfaction in case they have wants (Park, 2010). This is an indication that they grow up believing that use of strength is the only way to find solutions and meet their wants.
Approaching spanking from a behaviorist aspect, conditioning set by punishment through inflicting pain on a child requires an immediate consequence after an instance. For instance, whenever one touches a hot stove, he or she is burnt and withdraws from the stove. This is not a similar case since parents are not always available to see over their children or spank them whenever they go wrong. In this case, they engage in unwanted behaviors whenever their parents are away. Spanking fails to convey positive guidance. Children become confused on ways to behave in certain situations and have knowledge on how they should not behave in case a threat is on their side. Children learn to apply positive behaviors when they engage in practices that work for them and that leads to sense of competence and belonging. They are capable of internalizing all that they practice and practices by their families. The article stipulates that spanking increases loop of undesired behaviors. Corporal punishment tends to instill fear instead of understanding. Spanking sets an undesired example and teaches children that aggressiveness is the only solution to problems.
Another argument against spanking children is that it destroys trust. Spanking leads to even more aggressive expectations from parents by their children and become ready to aggress first. During child development stages, they are able to build trust with their parents. They build self-protective shields around themselves and have good relationships with their parents. When spanking is used as way of punishing, their trust diminishes. They increasingly mistrust motives from others and are more threat reactive in the long-term. Whenever a child is hit by an individual they trust most, questions run all over their minds and their self-esteem diminishes. From a psychological point of view, self esteem is a key element in every child during their development (Davey, 2011). It is mentioned that if a child should succeed in life, then level of their self-esteem should be considered. In other words, spanking should not be an option for changing behavior of children since it lowers self-esteem and destroys trust between children and their parents.
Children that undergo spanking feel depressed and devalued. Most importantly, their sense of self-esteem diminishes. Physical punishment has been linked with problems of mental health including anxiety, alcohol abuse, drug abuse, and depression. There is also a neuron imaging evidence suggesting that physical punishments alter brain parts. It has also been proved that spanking can affect areas of a child’s brain that are involved in stress and emotion regulation. In this case, spanking children affects their emotions and brain performance (Park, 2010). It teaches them to lie in order to avoid their parents or avoid detection. Therefore, spanking is not a perfect way of changing children’s undesired behaviors since it inflicts more undesired behaviors of lying with fear of being punished.
The article presents the idea of time-outs instead of spanking children to change their behaviors. This sounds better than spanking children that will inflict physical pain, depression, and anxiety over the long-term. Time outs involve denying children interactions for a specific period of time. Quiet moments experienced by children force them to have time to calm down and think of their emotions instead of acting on them is a reflexive manner. In this case, the goal of this punishment is aimed at getting children to understand they did wrong and realize all that motivated them to do wrong. Spanking children can become less effective whenever it is used repeatedly meaning that children will fail to understand the impacts required by their parents (Davey, 2011). To support this further is a research conducted by Mackenzie that proved that spanking is not good for children.
Spanking can lead to language problems. A study was conducted and proved children that were spanked twice a week seemed to have difficult times in use of vocabulary and in language comprehension tests (Narvaez, 2013). It has also been reported that spanking leads to even more cognitive impairments as well as long-term developmental problems. For instance, a study conducted in 2012 at a Children’s hospital in Ottawa proved that spanking reduces brain’s grey matter. This is the connective tissue found between brain cells. It is an integral part of central nervous system. It influences intelligence testing as well as learning abilities. Grey matter includes brain areas that are engaged n sensory perceptions, muscular control, speech, memory and emotions (Narvaez, 2013). Another study in 2012 proved that spanking leads to risks of mental illness. Adults that underwent spanking and reported such cases were faced with greater risks of mood disorders, alcohol as well as drug abuse, and anxiety (Narvaez, 2013). Spanking has been associated with undesired outcomes and that that seemed an activity with good motives by parents ends up a disaster in the long-term. This can continue in adulthood stages.
Contrary to this argument is for proponents of spanking. Proponents of spanking claim religiosity as a driving force to spank their children. They reference corporate punishment as preferred method of disciplining their children since it is stipulated in the Bible. Proponents also state that when spanking is used appropriately, it creates discipline as well as right doing in children. These proponents argue against opponents of spanking that claim that spanking turns children to violent beings (Narvaez, 2013). They argue that an occasional spanking of children engaging in unsafe or even terrible actions does not turn parents into abusers, but is a way of offering direction to children. The facts remain that spanking is not a perfect option to be used in children. Spanking should be avoided by all means possible since it is an indication that only strength can be used to change behavior and that as long as this strength is there, children should behave right (Narvaez, 2013). Whenever parents are not available for their kids, they engage in similar undesired behaviors since they are not exposed to pain like they are used to. Therefore, spanking is not a solution in changing children behavior for the better.
In conclusion, spanking should be avoided as much as possible by parents that would wish to see their children succeed as mature and responsible adults. Spanking is an indication that strength is the only source of problem solving. It also makes children aggressive in their future days. In most cases, people who underwent spanking and became used to it become aggressive filled with anxiety, temper, and depression. Spanking also destroys trust between children and their parents since children expect smooth treatment from their parents. Another point is that spanking can inflict mental problems in children and this might have long-term effects as the child grows into adulthood. Spanking should be replaced with more effective ways of behavioral change.

References
Davey, G. (2011). Applied Psychology. New York: John Wiley & Sons
Narvaez, D. (2013). Research on Spanking: It is Bad for All Kids. Psychology Today. Web, 13 Nov. 2013. http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/moral-landscapes/201309/research-spanking-it-s-bad-all-kids
Park, A. (2010). The Long-Term Effects of Spanking. Time Magazine. Web, 13 Nov. 2013. http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1983895,00.html

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