Essay Sample on Child Punishment at Early Childhood

Introduction

I recall when I was a child, my parents used to sent me to the store to buy things often. Most of the time I could forget something and bring fewer things, and they would send me back again. I never wanted the sales assistant to have an impression that I was a foolish child with a poor memory, so I would change my jacket inside out, change my hairstyle, change my facial expression, and on reaching the store, I would lower my voice while speaking to avoid been noticed but the sales assistant would always notice me.

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The reason why I remembered this experience is that: I saw one, my young cousins, refusing to go back to the store after failing to bring all the things she has been asked to buy. At the time when the event happened, I thought that I would never forget it because of how I felt, but I ended up forgetting it only to recall it when I saw my cousin trying to do the same thing.

I am very certain that the memory is accurate because when I saw my cousin behaving that way, most of the things that happened that day came back to my mind. However, I forgot some details like the day and date the primary thing that I recall is the part where I tried to change myself to avoid been noticed only to be seen. Remembering this event was not very difficult for me. I have very many recollections about my past some of which I remember partially; however, some events are closely related to the event mentioned above.

Discussion Prompt

Biological Development: Refers to the changes in shape, size, and function during the early years of life; it is the development of human's body organs. During the first days after conception, both the female and male embryos develop in the same way. If the ovum gets fertilized by the sperm with the X chromosome, it leads to the development of gonads into ovaries. This leads to the disintegration of the male anatomy with the female genitalia thickening and starts growing in the womb.

However, if the sperm with the Y chromosome fertilizes the ovum, gonads are converted into testes leading to the development of the male internal organs and disintegration of the female organs. Social development: Refers to the development of the skills behaviors and the way to talk. Some of the social factors which influence gender developments include; the parents who can reinforce or punish the behavior of a child for enabling him or her actions to the behavior that fits his or her gender. Cognitive factors influence gender development in that; when children perceive themselves as either male or female, they tend to be encouraged to know more about their identity which in turn endorses gender roles.

The biological, social and cognitive factors influence the development of the body as well as gender development in one way or another, so they are related to one another and depend on each other. For instance; when a sperm with the Y chromosome fertilizes the ovum, male genitalia is formed. When the child is born, the social factors around him like the parents influence how he or she should act hence developing his cognitive factors which make him aware of his identity or gender.

Child Punishment at Early Childhood

My Opinion

Children are just like plants; if they are taken good care of, they will flourish healthy and be more productive. If a child is treated well, he or she will grow into a good person since most of the adults who remain happy in life had a happy childhood. There is a need to give extra attention to children at a young age because the behavior of a child depends on the parents' behavior. Discipline is a basic thing that a child learns from his or her parents, and any child who misbehaves should not be avoided; instead, he or she should be taught the right path. However, instead of punishing children through spanking or any other harmful way, parents should tell them what is right through proper parenting techniques like telling them meaningful stories. I strongly believe that child punishment is very dangerous because it has severe impacts on a child's mental health and future development.

Impacts on the Development

Child punishment represents an act of aggression by the punisher towards the child. When such behaviors are directed to the child by the person, he or she considers being the role model it affects the child's self-esteem. The child loses trust in the world been formed at an early age, and this can result to poorer mental health, low quality of relationships with children and other parents, development of antisocial behaviors, lower internalization of morals and delinquency and aggressive behaviors( Grusec, Danyliuk, Kil, & O'Neill,2017).

According to Grogan-Kaylor & Graham-Bermann (2018), child punishment is likely to increase stubbornness which may, in turn, lead to more punishments in future to instill the desired behavior. Studies show that punishing a child at the age of one year can lead to behavioral problems when he or she reaches the age of five years as a result of increased punishment at the age of three. Therefore child punishment is a self-reinforcing issue that can lead to the development of behavioral problems and it can result in adverse interactions between the parents and the child. This can affect the child education due to increased fear in the child's mind.

Conclusion

In general, research has shown that punishing a child is very risky parenting from which can have severe impacts on the development of a child since it affects his or her perception of the world, behaviors, and the mental health. Most of the children who are given negative punishment tend to grow into aggressive adults in future and therefore punishing children to correct the child's inappropriate behavior should be avoided, and instead, parents should adopt proper parenting techniques for the appropriate development of their children.

References

Grogan-Kaylor, A., Ma, J., & Graham-Bermann, S. A. (2018). The case against physical punishment. Current opinion in psychology, 19, 22-27.Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352250X17300519

Grusec, J. E., Danyliuk, T., Kil, H., & O'Neill, D. (2017). Perspectives on parent discipline and child outcomes. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 41(4), 465-471.Retrieved from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0165025416681538