Essay 2 Revision

Jill Rocquin

Bruce Alford

March 25, 2015

Essay 2 Revision

Parents should find Alternatives to Physical Punishment

It is never all right to hit a child

Imagine that instead of being spoken to in a mature fashion, adults were disciplined physically. If one adult were to hit another adult the situation could be considered assault and then that person could possibly spend a night in jail. So why do adults hit children in order to teach them a lesson? It is considered wrong by most people to hit another adult or even animal. So why is it acceptable to hit a child that is unable to defend themselves? Since children cannot speak up for themselves it is up to humanity to speak for them. Spanking should not be a tolerable punishment against children.

That person may not be likely to pet that dog again or want to be around it for a while. This could easily apply to children who are spanked by their parents. Physical punishment has the power to implant fear, wrath, or evasion into children (Santrock 174). For example, spanking the child may cause that child to avoid being close to the parent and to be afraid of the parent (Santrock 174). Intimidation is not the way to teach children right from wrong. Just because a child fears a parent that does not mean that the child has made the connection between spanking and

There are many ways to correct children’s behavior. Although spanking seems to be the most common approach to child discipline there are other alternatives. The Canadian Pediatric Association highly encourages family physicians to motivate their clients to try enforcing other methods of punishment such as time-out (MDs). Time out is used to remove a child from a setting which may offer positive reinforcement (Santrock 174). This means putting the child into a room by his or herself to think about what they have done. During time-out a child may also be forbidden from watching TV or playing outside (Santrock 174). Other methods of non-physical punishment include “time-in” which is a method of communicating with the child about why they are being punished (Santrock 174). While spanking may be the quickest or easiest way to send a message experts encourage parents to maintain control of their anger and try counting to ten before reacting (Ban).

Counter Arguments A parent may claim “This is my child and I will punish my child the way I want”. It is entirely up to the parent how they raise their children. However parents should be aware of alternative punishments and the long term effects of spanking. One may also argue that they were spanked as a child and turned out just fine. Nevertheless the risk of long-term issues outweigh the moment of rage where one hits a child.