Corporal Punishment: More Harm Than Good? - Essay Sample

Introduction

Utilizing corporal punishment as a way of correcting a child is not something that started today but long ago as a technique of punishing children. Things are changing, especially issues concerning the best punishment for a child's behavior. In his article "More harm than good: A summary of scientific research on the intended and unintended effects of corporal punishment on children," Gershoff (2012) explains how most parents are using corporal punishment as a form of correction on their children. The percentage of parents using this form of punishment on toddlers and teenagers is approximately fifty percent and sixty-five percent, respectively. While corporal punishment is believed to teach children a certain level of discipline, the use of it does more harm than good because research shows that corporal punishment affects a child's mental development and the potential of this type of punishment being taken too far can become dangerous for the child and caretaker

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Gershoff (2010) argues that corporal punishment was not intended to affect a child negatively, which is the opposite of what research and observations say. Research shows that a child that received more harsh forms of punishment is more likely to act on it. Corporal punishment negatively affects the child's behavior in the sense that the child can have a violent character in life. Gershoff even stated that children who received punishments such as hitting, or more severe beatings, are more likely to implement that behavior within their peer groups, and eventually with their future children. The child can end up being a bully at school to have some peace or an abusive partner in his marriage later on by being violent on his family members.

Some parents and caretakers take corporal punishment too far, making it become dangerous for the child and also the parent. When the parent decides to keep on using corporal punishment each time a child does something that is considered bad, the child might be affected mentally and physically on a long term basis. This type of child-rearing technique is being used by so many parents today. In most cases, parents and caregivers use this form of punishment to make the child realize what they did was terrible. This punishment is also used to get the attention of the child. The use of this punishment is not effective when used continuously. Corporal punishment can make a child punishment tolerant. The child gets used to it and develops the courage to endure the pain each time. The child simply adapts to it to the extend that he or she might stop feeling or focusing on the pain while the punishment is being administered to him or her. The child gets to know that the pain only lasts for a short period of time, and he/she keeps on doing the wrong things without fear. Parents and caregivers can take this punishment to the next level, especially if they find it not effective enough to get their children on the right track. This punishment becomes dangerous, especially when the parents opt to use more violent forms of punishmentCITATION Smi12 \l 1033 (Smith, 2012). The punishment becomes harmful not only to the child but also to the parent. Corporal punishment becomes dangerous to all because it destroys the relationship between the two once violence becomes involved. The child might be seriously injured, both physically and mentally.

Durrant and Ensom (2012) argue that corporal punishment is seen to have a long term effect on the child, especially concerning his behavior and how he reacts to issues in the future. The research in the article shows that children who were subjected to some form of harsh corporal punishment grew up and were more likely to lash out towards others and be abusive towards their children and their spouse. Corporal punishment makes a child develop some aggressive behavior (Durrant & Ensom, 2012). Aggressive behavior might be witnessed during their peers or even adult stages. Corporal punishment as a means of disciplining a child breaks down a child in a negative way. The child grows up knowing that violence is the only way to handle various issues. This form of punishment guides the child's behavior towards others. Aggressiveness comes in the form of roughness and abusiveness. The child might become a bully in school just to feel good about him or herself, mainly because his home life is surrounded by violence. The child ends up making his whole life be surrounded by violence, even in other surroundings. Violence becomes the new strategy of problem-solving for the child. Due to aggressive behavior, a child might also lose respect for his elders. A child develops disrespect for adults due to the aggressive behavior developed, such as anger issues that leads to them being abusive as a way of containing themselves. The child growing up to be an abusive partner or parent makes him a sparse problem solver, with violence being the only thing that works for him or her.

Corporal punishment has negative effects on the child's behaviors. There are a lot of states that allow corporal punishment to be used in schools. Corporal punishment only negatively benefits the child and it is an ineffective way of punishing a child (Greydanus et al., 2003). It can only be effective for the short term, and it becomes worthless on a long term basis. Children tend to get used to being punished, which makes corporal punishment an act of only inflicting pain on them only when being used. They forget the punishment and still go on making that same mistake. For instance, teachers hitting children for low performance in class, the punishment will only teach the child that there is a specific pain they get when they fail a test instead of showing the child how to improve on the test. The use of this form of punishment in schools, teach students that violence is the only way to handle unwanted problems. The punishment impacts the students negatively because they develop a negative mentality in solving problems. For instance, the use of corporal punishment in schools affects the child's mental development because the students get to know that violence is the only way problems get solved. The students end up being bullies in school and having no respect for teachers. In other words, corporal punishment only causes more chaos than good. This form of punishment is very harmful, and in most cases, it does not teach the students a certain level of discipline that it is supposed to teach. Therefore making this form of punishment legal in many states has caused a lot of harm to children, especially towards their behavior and how they handle issues in life.

Corporal punishment has a lot of negative impacts on the child than most people know. The child does not only get physically hurt but also mentally and hurt. This form of punishment can make a child antisocial. This is mainly because of fear instilled by the punishment. The child can stop associating with friends because of the fear of being hurt by friends or fear of being laughed at by peers because of bruises on the body. This is a negative effect because the child will grow up not knowing how to associate and deal with other people. The future of the child might be affected, especially in workplaces or schools where he/she is expected to be a team player, but due to fear, they will prefer working on their own. Corporal punishment can also make the child have lower intellectual achievements in life because the child is focused on wondering how he or she will be punished next. The child can also do things with fear because many people have high expectations from them, especially teachers and parents, which might make him or her fail in certain areas of life. This form of punishment affects the mental health of children in various ways. A child develops anxiety issue since they always expect to be punished in and every slighted mistake they can encounter. For instance, the child can be depressed due to a lot of pressure from parents. This pressure of wanting the child to be perfect and always being on the right track can cause depression and anxiety. The child can end up doing things just to impress the parents and avoid being punished but hurts in the inside.

According to many nurses, pediatrics, and nurse practitioners, corporal punishment is not the best way to handle a child who has done something wrong. Corporal discipline has negative long term effects on toddlers and adolescence (Hornor et al., 2020). The form of punishment is violent and, therefore, not healthy for children. For children, this form of punishment only makes them realize that there is a form of pain involved with specific actions that they do and nothing else(Smith, 2006). Due to this, the nurse practitioners try to teach parents and caregivers the right procedures to correct a child. Corporal punishment is not a long term problem solver hence being ineffective. With the reason that once the pain is gone, most children tend to forget what they had done was a mistake and might end up doing it again, knowing that the consequence of their action is only pain, which in most cases does not last for long. Corporal punishment affects the child's mental development because instead of knowing certain behaviors are wrong, they only come to understand that the actions are related to pain. The child's psychological development is affected in such a way that the child can become fond of corporal punishment. From the article "Building a Safe and Healthy America: Eliminating Corporal Punishment via Positive Parenting" Hornor et al., gives out remedies concerning this issue of corporal punishment by mentioning how nurse practitioners want to teach the parent how to respond to behaviors that they want to change in a more positive light. In other words, this article argues that many positive ways can be used to correct a child without corporal punishment since corporal punishment is not that effective.

Corporal punishment shapes the behavior of a child. The ways and the techniques used to rear a child is what makes the child. Parents and caregivers act as role models to children in both negative and positive forms. Children are created in such a way that they do what adults do, especially their parents. In his Journal "On Hitting Children: A Review of Corporal Punishment in the United States," Knox shows research that was done to link the act of corporal punishment and delinquent and malice behavior within a child. The article also explains the similarities of this form of punishment to child abuse. According to the children's human rights, a child should not be hit because corporal punishment is a form of violence, which is the opposite of what the children's rights support. This form of punishment makes parents maltreat their children in various ways. Various recommendations can be implemented to do away with the negative effects of corporal punishment on children. One of the recommendations is educating the parents on the dangers and effects of corporal punishment on children. Most parents do what they think or know is best for their children. Some parents might be innocent enough not to see the kind of harm they are causing their children through this form of punishment. Therefore awareness might help many who think they are doing the right thing but only end up hurting their children. The other recommendation is the elimination of social sanctions that are used to hit children. This strategy will reduce the use of corporal punishment on children, therefore, reducing child maltreatment. This form of punishment is linked to child abuse because it violates the children's human rights, just like child abuse.

Conclusion

In conclusion, corporal punishment is not the best way to punish a child. There are other ways a child can be punished without the use of violence. Corporal...