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Parental Rights to Use Corporal Punishment
by Elderine Wyrick
After 62 years
of scientific research in 88 research projects, the majority of the
American public still disagrees with psychologists and other
professionals regarding the issue of corporal punishment (Campbell 1).
Social scientists have researched and presented articles trying to
convince the American society to stop spanking their children. Despite
these efforts, according to a study done in 1999, “94 percent of parents
of toddlers in a recent national survey reported spanking, which is
about the same as it was in 1975 (Adults 3).
In the 1992
movie, Medicine Man, Dr. Richard Campbell (played by Sean
Connery) finds the cure for cancer and then cannot reproduce it. He
climbs high into the trees to gather flowers that he thinks has the
solution. The local native medicine man tells him he is a fool. He
tells him the flower is only the house for the bugs. Later, Campbell
discovers the ants hold the key to his cure not the flowers. Much like
Dr. Campbell, researches are searching for an answer to society’s
growing violent behavior. They have zeroed in on the issue of corporal
punishment believing that to be the key. They believe that if they
could only get society to stop spanking children, we would have
cooperative, well-behaved children. After more than 80 research
projects on corporal punishment, they conclude that corporal punishment
and violent aggressiveness are the cause and effect (Straus).
Unfortunately, I believe, much like the mistake of Dr. Campbell, they
are looking for flowers while there are bugs crawling around unnoticed.
Corporal
punishment is a long-term established form of discipline. Assuredly, it
has been misused by many and abused by others throughout history.
However, for centuries children were spanked by their parents and grew
to be productive, responsible, reasonable, non-violent citizens
unscathed enough by their parents’ discipline techniques to choose to
lovingly use the same discipline methods on their own children. Some
researchers implied that parents repeat their parents’ form of discipline
because they do not have another plan (Walsh). While that may be
somewhat accurate, I also believe they choose to continue corporal
punishment as a way of training a child because they believe it worked
for them, and it should work for their children too. Although there are
some parents who are out of control and need to refrain from corporal
punishment, it is unrealistic to propose that the majority of parents
are incapable of loving their own children and using reasonable judgment
to correct their children with corporal punishment.
One of the “crawling bugs”
mentioned earlier is violence in the entertainment industry. Endorsed by
the AMA, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Psychological
Association, and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent
Psychiatry, a document was published recognizing the hazards associated
with children's exposure to violence, whether on television, in the
movies, or a part of computer and video games. At this time, well over
1,000 studies - including reports from the surgeon general's office, the
National Institute of Mental Health and numerous studies conducted by
leading figures within our medical and public health organizations -
point overwhelmingly to a causal connection between media violence and
aggressive behavior in some children.” They further stated that
" ‘Before he or she
reaches the age of 18, the average child will witness more than 200,000
acts of violence on television, including 16,000 murders,’ said AMA
Trustee J. Edward Hill, MD. ‘The link between media violence and
real-life violence has been made by science time and again’ "
(Stapleton). Does it not seem interesting that corporal punishment
existed for centuries without major causes of violence, and the four
forms of entertainment alleged to create violence has only been in
existence for less than 75 years?
Another “bug
in the house” is the decay of the family unit. Mr.
Moynihan, an assistant secretary in LBJ's Labor Department, in
his famous 1965 report wrote, "There is one unmistakable lesson in
American history: A community that allows a large number of men to grow
up in broken families, dominated by
women, never acquiring any stable relationship to male authority, never
acquiring any rational expectations about the future -- that community
asks for and gets chaos . . .. And it is richly deserved (Taste)." The
issues of broken families and absent fathers began to escalate during
World War II and increased from then until now. This is another issue
to consider when looking at modern violence and uncontrolled anger.
A third issue to consider before completely pushing
children’s aggressive behavior on corporal punishment is psychologists
and educators themselves. Murray Straus states that several studies
supported the theory that aggressive behavior followed sustained
corporal punishment. The report continues, “However, for toddlers and
for African-American children, they found the opposite. Gunnoe and
Mariner suggest that this occurs because younger children and
African-American children tend to regard corporal punishment as a
legitimate parental behavior rather than as an aggressive act
(Straus).” This could indicate that educators and psychologists have
instructed and inferred to school age children that their parents are
wrong to spank them. In fact, they invite them to tell their teachers
if their parents hit them. Perhaps these professionals are part of the
cause that encourages children to resent their parents’ physical
discipline. This results in anger and family conflict. These
professionals may be guilty of taking away the parents’ “legitimate
parental right” to spank their own children in the kids mind thus
creating aggressive rebellion toward authority.
Corporal punishment is defined as “the use of physical force
with the intention of causing a child to experience pain, but not
injury, for purposes of correction or control of the child’s behavior”
(Straus). “Physical abuse is defined as inflicting injuries through
acts such as punching, kicking, and burning” (Corporal). Discipline
comes from the root word “disciplinare, which means to teach or
instruct. Therefore, “discipline refers to the system of teaching and
nurturing that prepared children to achieve competence, self-control,
self-direction, and caring for others (Roberts). Each of these terms
relate to training a child, and each has a correlation with the other.
Corporal punishment is not physical abuse but can lead to that if a
parent is not purposeful and self-controlled. Discipline can be done
with or without corporal punishment depending upon the situation and the
parents’ judgment. However, child abuse stands alone as the undeniable,
unacceptable form of punishment in any situation.
Our American society is in trouble. “We’re
potentially raising overly aggressive children who react to situations
with intimidation and bullying, instead of cooperation and
understanding; children who won’t be able to tolerate frustration, wait
their turn, or respect the needs of others.” (Kyle Pruett, clinical
professor of psychiatry at the Yale University Child Study Center)”
(Adults). I believe this stems from a lack of character training.
Unfortunately, many of our young parents failed to receive character
training during their youth. This creates a dilemma for today’s
society. Too few parents have enough self-control to truly discipline
and train their children without anger. Fortunately, character training
has come to the forefront and is being added back to public school
studies. It is now an accepted fact that “character education can alter
attitudes towards violence and cut youth crime, drug use, and cheating,
according to a massive new study by university researchers from the
South Dakota State University Cooperative Extension Service/4-H (a
division of the United States Department of Agriculture) (DeCair).”
Writers and
organizations leading the movement away from corporal punishment believe
that rules and discipline are necessary, but that they will be more
effective without corporal punishment. Their goal is to inform parents
about these more effective disciplinary strategies (Straus 3). It is
understandable why researchers fear the use of corporal punishment.
However, the problem is not corporal punishment; it is in the lack of
parental discipline and training. Defenders of corporal punishment
agree that when the “criterion is immediate compliance, non-corporal
discipline strategies work just as well as corporal punishment” (4).
There is no
need to destroy or criminalize the corporal punishment system that the
Bible supports. But rather, we should commit ourselves to training
parents in non-corporal discipline techniques that can be used in most
cases, yet allow for times when the most
effective form of discipline is a loving, purposeful, and controlled
spanking. Parents can be trained to recognize their own anger and not
react to it. They can be taught to respond with purpose rather than
react with anger.
In most cases, spankings
should be reserved for acts of extreme defiance. This training can be
done through family life educators, pediatricians, counselors, churches,
and high school family education classes.
Parents need
guidance to retrain themselves in discipline. Some suggestions are as
follows: (1) Have a plan; work the plan. Pre-determine consequences
for basic types of misbehavior. The rules need to be clear and stated.
This helps to avoid anger. (2) Remain calm yet firm when a child is
acting out. The behavior is not personal toward you, the parent. The
child is testing the boundaries, and it is your job to prove that the
boundary still exists. He will feel more secure when he knows it is
still in place. Enforce the rules. (3) Explain the misdeed to the
child and tell him what the consequences are. If he is old enough, ask
him to explain it back to you for confirmation. Remember, you do not
give discipline. He earns it. You are just giving him his paycheck.
(Make sure there are good things he can do to earn good rewards too.)
(4) “Children do best in homes that are high in warmth and love but also
on structure.” They need to be age appropriately supervised and
monitored. (5) When your child acts out at the store, remember, “The
child is the priority, not the stranger. Ignore the pointed stares. If
that becomes too stressful, it is better to leave the cart in the middle
of the aisle and head to the car than to send children the message that
wailing is the way to get what they want. Do not relent: The stakes get
higher as they get older” (Rubin 2). (6) Put computers, televisions, and
telephones in a public place—not in the child’s bedroom. This will
protect your child from straying into unhealthy contacts and programs.
It allows you to monitor these potential hazards (Rubin 3). (7) Love
your child; discipline his behavior. Your child is not his behavior.
Behaviors can change with loving discipline. (8) Become familiar and
use the following discipline techniques appropriately: (A) Time-out; (B)
Removal of privileges; and (C) Punishment. Remember to fit the
consequences to the crime. Be clear in your expectations, strong and
immediate with your consequence, and consistent and loving in your
response.
Although
corporal punishment is still a viable form of discipline, there are many
parents unprepared to use it. A parent must be mature, self-controlled
and purposeful before they are equipped to spank without anger. Any
physical or verbal aggression done in anger is damaging to the child.
Due to our chaotic world, the non-corporal punishment technique should
be learned and used when possible. Parents should prayerfully and
carefully consider long term consequences of their discipline style
before moving forward toward spanking. Spankings can be a growing
experience when done appropriately. However, if there is a doubt of its
appropriateness, it is best to not do it.
Works Cited
“Adults Lack Accurate Information about Kids.” USA
Today. August 2002, 4-5.
Campbell, Susan. “Spare the Rod to Spare the Child?
Corporal Punishment Remains Popular in America, Despite Associated
Risks.” Psychology Today. September-October 2002, 26.
“Corporal Punishment Takes Research Hit.” Science.
3 August 2002, 77.
DeCair, Tom. New Study Proves Character Education
Works: Violence, Drug Use, Cheating Cut Sharply. South Dakota State
University, ABS.
http://www.abs.sdstate.edu/abs/8-8-2001/study.htm
Roberts, David G. “Commentary.” Clinical
Pediatrics. March 2002, 90-91.
Rubin, Bonnie Miller. “Five Signs You’re Being Too
Lenient: Think You’re a Decent Disciplinarian? Don’t Be So Sure! How to
Tell If You’re a Pushover Parent—and What to Do.” Good Housekeeping.
January 2003, 3.
Stapleton, Stephanie. “Media Violence is Harmful to
Kids—and to Public Health.” American Medical News. 14 August 2000,
33-35.
Straus, Murray A. “New Evidence for the Benefits of
Never Spanking.” Society. September-October 2001, 52-60.
“Taste -- Review & Outlook: The Dad Deficit” Wall
Street Journal; 15 June 2001, 19(W).
Walsh, Wendy. “Spankers and Nonspankers: Where They
Get Information on Spanking.” Family Relations. January 2002, 81-88.
© 2002,
Elderine Wyrick
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