Should parent spank their children? If they do, what are their rights and limitation?
Have you ever heard the word, “Spare the rod and spoil the child”, this is a common saying that we have heard at one point in our lifetime. Some people believe that spanking a child is good, while others believe it is not. Another phrase for the word spanking is “corporal punishment”. Some parents believe spanking is a good way of bringing up a child and they give excuses such as, it helps to discipline the child, it sets the child straight , it makes the child respect the parents, some Christian parent even quote the Bible as a good reason to spank their child, Proverbs chapter 23, verse 13 “Do not hold back discipline from the child, Although you strike him with the rod, he will not die.” These are just a few of the reasons why parents spank their children. Meanwhile, they never talk about the negative effect of spanking children. The word “spanking” is downplayed when parents use it as a reason for punishing their child, the better word to use should be “corporal punishment.” The word Spankings and corporal punishment mean the same thing. They both mean the intentional infliction of pain on the body for purposes of punishment and includes slapping, hitting with objects, pinching, shaking and forcing to stand for long periods of time. Spanking or corporal punishment is psychologically damaging to a child, it instills rage and a sense of powerlessness while not reducing the undesirable behavior in children. It is a non-practical approach to parenting and results in fear based conditioning, which creates insecure attachments that can potentially lead psychological pathology and illness and also leads to child abuse. Parent should find other ways of instilling discipline in a child rather spanking or corporal punishment.