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Sydney Drew Embler 

DB2

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When providing an argument for corporal punishment, I am definitely against it. I do not feel in any way should physical harm should be used on a child. A child is born to be loved and cherished, while also being disciplined and shaped into a respectable human being. While providing discipline and shaping a child, it can all be done without corporal punishment. There are strong willed children who need a little more than just simple discipline techniques but that does not mean corporal punishment is the answer. As Dobson (2004, p. 143) states, “It is possible…even easy…to create an aggressive child who has observed violent episodes at home.” Children’s minds are very impressionable and they learn from their parents by modeling. When a parent inflicts pain on a child, it could very likely forever change this child’s view of the parents and make the child afraid of their parents. This could negatively impact the child’s personality. In my opinion, I feel like expressing feelings and emotions are the best ways to handle situations rather than corporal punishment. I do understand that this may not work in every situation, but if it is done in a teachable way rather than coming down hard on the child, I do feel like the child will respond in a positive way.

For example, if a young child throws a toy across the room and a parent spanks the child, this could make the child afraid to ever play with toys again because they got spanked. Personally, this is a mistake on the child’s part so they should not be punished. They should be talked to about it and a parent should discuss with them why it is wrong to throw toys rather than inflicting pain upon them for something that they did not know was wrong. This kind of parenting takes patience and consistency. Corporal punishment may seem like an easier way out, in my opinion, but I feel like if parents take the time to talk with their children and let their children express why they did what they did, it will help for a healthier development. Dobson (2004, p. 147) does explain that disciplinary spanking can find a boundary between loving discipline and not needing to be labeled abuse. Which I do not agree with, but that it just my opinion.

I was never spanked nor had any type of physical discipline and I do feel like my opinion on this subject does sway towards disagreeing because I have never experienced it and I have a strong loving relationship with my parents. I am sure the parents who do spank have their reasons for it, I just strongly disagree with it. I am a full believer of talking and communicating about mistakes rather than engaging in any type of corporal punishment. Here is another way I look at it, do adults hit adults? Yes, some do and it is considered abuse. When a husband hits his wife, that is considered an abusive relationship. So, why should children be hit? No matter what a child does, I do not believe spanking is the way to handle it. Dobson (2004, p. 147) discusses that kicking, punching and beating are grouped with mild spanking as abusive forms. A child’s personality can easily become very fearful and hesitate any form of a relationship with a parent who hits. A child’s personality all begins at home, with how the parent reacts to certain situations. If the parent is easily angered and escalates the smallest situation, then this could also lead the child down a road to a negative personality. Parents need to make sure they are in the right state of mind to implement discipline or it could all end badly for the child. As Dobson (2004, p. 148) states that the child’s emotional development can be damaged if a parent handles discipline with anger. This is another reason I truly feel talking about situations and discussing the rights and wrongs of life will help a child’s emotional development and lead to a healthier development all around.

Spiritually, I feel that God would not want us to hit our children, he would want us to love them and appropriately handle situations by talking and expressing feelings. A bible verse from Proverbs (10:17 NIV) states “Whoever heeds discipline shows the way of life, but whoever ignores correction leads others astray.” I feel as if this is screaming to us as people, discipline your children but face the problem rather than mask it with a spanking. Discipline is one of those things that has many different ways of implementing it, but I strongly believe corporal punishment is not the way to approach discipline. Talk to your children and let them know you care by welcoming them with open arms and discussing why a mistake is a mistake. Especially how Dobson (2004, p. 147) discusses that spanking is more effective on a preschool age child, which is baffling to me because this is the age where a child is coming into themselves and learning to trust those around them.

I’d like to end on the note that children already have so many other pressures in the world coming down hard on them. In Dobson’spresentation on Wounded Spirits, he states how children can be so vulnerable to self-hatred due to the culture we live in today. So, with this being said, I strongly believe parents need to love their children and discipline without corporal punishment because they need to know they can trust that their parents will love them even if they do make a mistake. Children need support at home more than ever and I pray that more children can feel loved rather than rejected.

References 

Dobson, J., 2004. The New Strong-Willed Child. Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.

Liberty University (n.d.). Dobson, J. (n.d.). Wounded Spirits.

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