Coley 1

Carrigan Coley
Manugo 4B
English 112
The Classical Argument
Spanking: Effective Discipline or Child Abuse
When does discipline become child abuse? Many people, especially parents, ask
themselves this question every day. Before answering this question parents need to define
discipline. Most people define discipline as a way to punish and correct certain unaccepted
behaviors. Punishment has three sub-categories: physical, emotional, and verbal. In regards to
this particular argument, I intend to focus on the aspect of physical punishment. Physical
punishment, commonly known as, corporal punishment; is one of the most highly scrutinized
forms of discipline. Many say that spanking a child is a form of child abuse that does more harm
than good, while others say that it is an effective way to make a point clear to the child during
discipline. I am included with the others; there is nothing wrong with a spanking here or there. It
only results in abuse when taken to an extreme and when physical or emotional long-term effects
are the outcome.
When people think of spanking, they first think of the psychological effects that spanking
ultimately has on a child. According to Murray Straus, a professor of sociology and co-director
of the Family Research Laboratory at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, kids who get
spanked have a higher risk of committing juvenile crimes, assaulting other children, depression,
and domestic violence in adult hood (LA Times). Basically he believes spanking children
ultimately leads the child to failure. However, I am inclined to disagree because he overlooks the
possibility of other factors along with the spanking that leads to these issues. Just spanking alone

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cannot lead to these problems; other causes must come into play. Violence is a learned behavior
and spanking is not violent when done for a quick correction of behavior. Parents only use a
slight spanking as a quick way to put children in line. In many instances, parents do not have the
time to stop and explain to the child what they did wrong or put them in time out. For example,
if a child starts throwing a tantrum in the middle of the grocery store, the parent may not have the
time to reason with the child; a scene starts to develop in the store, so the parents only option is
to quickly pop the child to make him or her behave (La Times). Hence this quick pop should not
be deemed as excessive because the parent uses it as a last resort.
In the standard way of thinking about spanking, people view it as an unnecessary
disciplinary tactic. Many parents and pediatricians say that a parent should utilize other modes
of discipline. In an article written by Claire McCarthy, M.D, a detailed list explains some
diverse disciplinary methods, such as putting the child in time out, taking away toys or
privileges, and grounding (Huffington Post). When employing the technique of sending the child
to time out, the child sits in a quiet and safe place away from any attention for one minute for
every year of age. Taking away toys or privileges is just that-- removing something the child
holds dear for a certain amount of time. Grounding, a more severe punishment, is where the
parent takes every mode of electronics and strips all outside privileges until a set date. This gives
the child time to really reflect on what he or she has done since the kid has nothing else to do
(Huffington Post). McCarthys claim that putting a child in time out is effective rests on the
questionable assumption that the child will actually stay in the spot. A restless child will not
easily sit in a corner without a fight. Although I agree with McCarthy up to a point, I cannot
accept her overall conclusion that these various methods work better than a quick spanking. So
many factors have to be taken into consideration when trying to utilize them, when a spanking

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just quickly gets the point across without very much explanation. Even though they rarely admit
as much, parents often take spanking as a deterrent of bad behavior for granted. The tactic of
spanking dates back to biblical times and has shown to deter unacceptable behavior. After
hearing stories that my father has told me about the times he was beaten and the reasons why, the
spankings have proved a useful disciplinary method. One of his stories was about the time he
was caught bad mouthing one of his teachers, and they called his grandmother, with whom he,
his mother, and his three brothers lived. When he came home from school, his grandmother told
him to pick a switch, a flexible piece of wood used specifically for disciplining, off the cigar tree.
Once he chose one, he brought it back to his grandmother; she looked at it and gave him one last
chance to pick an acceptable one. After he did, she told him to drop his pants and proceeded to
swat until she made her point clear. My fathers grandmother spanking him showed that
behavior of that manner would not be tolerated. He never got caught bad mouthing a teacher
again.
People often say that spanking leads to aggression later on in a childs life. Many
pediatricians state that when a child receives a spanking his or her aggression level increases. In
a new study published in Pediatrics, researchers at Tulane University [showed] 2,500
youngsters in the studywho were spanked more frequentlywere much more likely to be
aggressive by age 5 (New York Times). The study proves that children who receive more
spankings than others have more issues with aggression. Though I concede that spanking may
cause aggression in children, I still insist that it is an effective way to teach right from wrong. In
most cases when a parent spanks a child, the parent does not do it for the satisfaction of hitting
the child, but because the child does something the parent thinks is inappropriate. I distinctly
remember a time when my mother spanked me for making potions which consisted of a

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mixture of baby oil, baby powder, and glue, on the carpet in my room. I obviously received the
spanking because my potion making was an untolerated behavior and wrong for me to do. I
should have asked if I could use those products and found a better place to mix them. Spankings
also teach right from wrong because they occur after committing a wrongful act, thus teaching
the child that his or her actions cause the pain.
Spankings are perfectly fine in moderation. A parent deciding to use a few quick hits as a
way to discipline his or her child does not demonstrate abuse. Different methods that can be
applied when punishing a child; however, in many instances there is not enough time to use those
methods. Although some pediatricians say that spankings cause harmful effects later on in life, I
have to disagree because spankings alone cannot cause those issues. There must be other factors
in the equation that contribute to those harmful effects. Spankings are used as a quick way to put
a child back in line. Most parents do not just spank kids just because they can they use it to prove
a point. Also many say that spankings cause child and adulthood aggression. However, many
children have learned right from wrong after receiving spankings. People opposed to spanking
say that it is an unnecessary disciplinary tactic and that various methods should be utilized.
Contrary to what those people may believe, spankings are necessary because in a quick moment
there is no time for explanations or time out. Spankings are an effective disciplinary tactic that
happens to involve slight pain to a child; they are not abuse because the child is not being beaten,
just swiftly swatted.

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Works Cited
McCarthy, M.D. Claire. "How To Discipline -- Without Spanking." The Huffington Post.
TheHuffingtonPost.com, n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2015.
Ogilvie, Jessica Pauline. "Pro / Con: Spanking." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 26 Dec.
2011. Web. 02 Mar. 2015.
Park, Alice. "The Long-Term Effects of Spanking." Time. Time Inc., 03 May 2010. Web. 03 Mar.
2015.
Tucker, Erika. "When Does Discipline Become Child Abuse?" Global News. N.p., n.d. Web. 02
Mar. 2015.