Spank Or Not To Spank

11 Pages 2818 Words

A young boy about six years old in the supermarket is screaming, crying, and pulling on his mothers leg to purchase a piece of candy. His mother simply tells him “stop it, stop it, stop it or you will have to go into time out,” but this has no effect on the little boy’s fierce tantrum. Most parents would not put up with that kind of behavior from their children, although what kind of discipline would be appropriate? Spanking is a type of discipline that will be beneficial for a child when applied correctly and in certain circumstances because it, will teach them consequences of their own actions, increase their respect for authority, does not contribute to anti social behavior, and will aid in the reduction of flair up child abuse.
Spanking is not a form of discipline that should be used as an everyday disciplinary action, but as said by Dr. John Rosemond, a family psychologist, in an interview with Talk of the Nation “spanking is, at times, with certain children and certain situations, absolutely the best disciplinary response” (Melenda Penkava 2). Before spanking is employed other routes of dealing with bad behavior should be tried such as warnings, raised voice, time outs, and so on. Spankings should be the last resort and not acted out as a violent lashing toward the child. A non-abusive spanking is one or two swats to the rear end of child with a hand, not with the intention of inflicting pain but with the intention of correcting and getting a clear message across to the child (Penkava 3).
There are some guidelines to spanking that studies show to be essential in the effectiveness in the discipline of a child. The use of physical punishment on a child under 18 months old or at the age of puberty is shown to be unsuccessful but rather is more productively administered when the child is two to six years old. Studies done by Diana Baumrind PHD, who has published a series of studies on the relation between parent...