The spanking of children by parents is an old practice that was strictly used to show that the behavior of the child was incorrect. This topic has recently become more and more controversial and has raised questions of whether or not we should spank our children. As we as people become more educated we begin to see the benefits and consequences of spanking our children. Today, spanking is almost frowned upon as people now call it child abuse. However, that is just one liberal perspective that has taken over the media and people’s minds. In order to make claims that spanking is good or bad, we must provide sociological reasoning and examples that support the claims. Although there are studies showing the advantages and disadvantages of spanking, we are unable to say which works better in discipline of children. That is because it is important to note that not every child can be disciplined in the same way. This paper will provide sociological reason against and for spanking.
Back in the day, spanking was one of the only ways to “train” your child, and if your child did not respond well to the spanking, then you would spank harder. No one really considered the outcome of spanking nor did they realize the subsequent behavior of the children after the spanking. In an article written by Dr. Murray A. Straus and colleagues, they did a sociological study to show how spanking can lead to “subsequent antisocial behavior in children”. Ultimately, they found that forty-four percent of mothers reported spanking their children prior to the study. With that, they spanked their children on an average of 2.1 times per week. The study showed that more spanking led to a higher level of antisocial behavior 2 years later in the children. Dr. Murray A. Straus and colleagues concluded that the use of spanking, and or corporal punishment, on children causes the opposite results of the intentions of the parents by leading to antisocial behavior. This study concluded that if parents replaced spanking with another form of punishment, it could reduce the risk of antisocial behavior in children (Murray, “Spanking by Parents and Subsequent Antisocial Behavior of Children”).
Another reason against the spanking of children is whether or not the spanking can lead the children to think it is okay to hit other children and or their peers in order to resolve a conflict. In a study done by Dominique A. Simons, she conducted a study on families with children from the ages of 3-7 years old. She found that parents that liked and used spanking as a form of punishment were more likely to endorse hitting as a strategy for resolving conflict. That is a reason against spanking of children because it can potentially lead to children being more violent and aggressive in resolving conflict. This study concludes that parents should use other forms of punishment as a disciplinary method (Simons, “Child Abuse and Neglect”).
Lastly, spanking ultimately can increase behavior problems within children and it is necessary to avoid these issues. There is really no need to put children at risk for misbehavior. I believe a lot of times, people use spanking without thinking about the long-term effects. That is because they cannot see what it will do later in the child’s life. Another reason I believe parents spank is to release their frustration. From personal experience, my parents would spank me because they thought the other methods of disciple were not working. Consequently, when I repeated the same bad behavior again throughout the day that they punished without spanking, they would just give in to their frustrations and spank me. That can be emotionally gratifying for parents.
All of this being said about spanking being something a parent should never do to a child, parents still do it. Which raises the question, why do parents spank their children as a form of discipline? There are studies that show spanking can benefit a child in learning right from wrong.
Although some may think spanking is an outdated form of punishment, that does not make it necessarily a bad form of punishment. I believe that there are times when parents take spanking too far and it can potentially cross the line of child abuse, but there are always those people who do things they are not supposed to. However, when you look at spanking for what it is, as a form of discipline, everyone should have the right to discipline their child how they want without the fear of being reported to police.
In a study written and conducted by Murray Wardrop, he found that children that were spanked became more successful later in their lives. Wardrop stated, “youngsters smacked up to the age of six did better at school and were more optimistic about their lives than those never hit by their parents” (Wardrop, “Smacked Children More Successful Later in Life”). The study was conducted on asking teenagers how often they were spanked as children. The results from that is what showed how spanking led to greater success. Murray Wardrop acknowledges spanking as a “dangerous tool” (“Smacked Children More Successful Later in Life”) but believes that there are acts in which it is necessary to use that method of discipline. Consequently, that study shows how spanking is an okay form of punishment and can also lead to greater success in that childs life.
I personally believe spanking can also be a good tool of punishment for the simple fact that it deters the child from doing the bad thing that they were doing when they were spanked. Spanking should occur in the toddler age range, and I believe at that age, taking things away from a child does not necessarily work to get your point across. When your child is a toddler, it is not easy to reason with them. Therefore, spanking might get your point across easier. However, I do believe that spanking should not be your only form of punishment. Parents should utilize other forms of punishment and only use spanking when it is necessary. Spanking is also a disciplinary method that should be completely phased out before the child is an adolescent.
Lastly, spanking has the potential to shock the child into behaving better overall. Like I stated before, spanking will deter the child from doing the bad thing that they were doing, but it could also lead to better behavior overall. That is because the child will become afraid of being spanked, therefore they will avoid doing things that could lead to being spanked. But, regardless of anything, spanking is something to be done for the child to learn appropriate behavior and not to just satisfy the frustrations of the parents.
Overall, children are different and no single punishment works for every child, which includes children in the same household. The best example I can think of stems from my sister and I. Growing up, I was very responsive to being spanked. On the other hand, spanking did not work for my twin sister and it infuriated my parents. They would get frustrated because my sister would not correct her behavior after being spanked, instead she would get mad and act out worse. Ultimately, my parents had to use an alternative form of discipline for my twin sister.
Regardless of anything, the purpose of spanking should solely be to teach a child a lesson and as a punishment for incorrect behavior. There are many pros and cons to spanking and I believe it is up to the parents to administer the type of punishment they see fit for the actions of the child. Parents should never feel afraid to spank their kids nor should they fear judgment by others or being reported to the police. On the other hand, parents who do not believe in spanking should not feel that they are weak parents or face judgment on their practices either. Parenting is not an easy task and everyone has different parenting styles. As long as the parent does not cross the line into child abuse, then parents should feel free to discipline their child how they want.