Behaviours: Things that children do that might give some parents a reason to punish them:

being rude and disrespectful

laziness and lack of discipline
neglecting their studies
not helping with the chores
accidental damage to property
deliberate damage to property
doing things that could cause injury to themselves, e.g. running out into the road
acting in a violent way towards other children
causing embarrassment to parents in a public place such as a shop or restaurant
staying out too late at night
having the wrong kind of friends
being untidy
not living up to the parents expectations
wearing unsuitable clothes, make-up, jewellery, etc.

Discuss and to try to agree on the three which are the most serious and the three which are
the least serious.

The Case for Spanking

It is the duty of parents to bring their children up in such a way that they become
disciplined. Society has a moral order, and children need to be taught how to behave so that
they conform to that order. There are many ways to accomplish this. Talking about the
rules, explaining them and criticizing the childs behaviour are important methods. When the
rules are broken parents must first tell their children of, and sometimes this verbal
disapproval is enough to get them to control their behaviour. However, at other times some
children can be so unruly and unreasonable that parents have to resort to corporal
punishment to correct their behaviour.
Smacking works because it is painful. The pain is what helps the child appreciate how
wrong his or her action was. Furthermore, when a child knows that it can be smacked this
instils a fear of the punishment which helps to deter misbehaviour in the future. It also
works because children can see that the punishment is for their own good. Admittedly this is
not always true of older children (over the age of 10 or 11) so with teenagers smacking is
not recommended unless they agree with the punishment.
Here is how one 15-year-old boy describes the way his parents have treated him:
My parents always warn me first and then if I ignore the warning I get spanked. Looking
back at the times I have been smacked I can see that I deserved it. Usually I cry, partly
because it hurts but also because I regret what I have done and because I am sorry I have
disappointed my parents. Afterwards, I never do it again. I know not many kids my age get
spanked, but I think that maybe they should, because there are kids who go out and break
the law just for fun and their parents don't do anything about it.
An older person described his experience this way:
I have very clear memories of the smacking I received when I was little, and I am grateful
to my mum for smacking me. I see lots of young people with so little self-control and selfdiscipline and I blame the parents for not being strict enough.
Some people argue that because it is illegal to hit an adult who behaves badly it should also
be illegal to smack a child. These people are mistaken because the comparison between
children and adults is not a reasonable one. Adults are assumed to be responsible. With
children it is quite different. We know that responsibility is something that their parents must
teach them. It is for this reason that it would be foolish if parents had to treat their children
just like adults. We should all be concerned about the way children might be abused and
injured by their parents, but we should not make the mistake of thinking that a parent who
smacks his sons and daughters because they have been disobedient is the same as a

drunken father who comes home and beats his children. Parents who commit brutal acts of
child abuse ought to be prosecuted. Parents who use moderate forms of corporal
punishment to educate the children that they love should be supported by the society they
live in.

A. Look for the following words:

1. In the first paragraph, what is the adjective that means: in the habit of obeying a strict set
of rules?
2. You know what it means when your parents say they disapprove of your behaviour, but
what is the noun derived from this verb? (paragraph 1)
3. You know what the school rules are, but what is the word derived from rule that refers to
naughty and disruptive behaviour? (paragraph 1)
4. In the quotation from the 15-year-old boy what is the phrase that means commit an act
which is illegal?
5. You know what it means when we say people obey orders, but what is the adjective that
refers to the behaviour of those who do not obey? (last paragraph)
6. Which verb in the last paragraph means: formally accused of a crime and taken to a
court of law?
B. Match the words in bold with the following definitions:
a. to make someone feel something
b. expressed in words (adjective)
c. achieve
d. hit
e. understand
f. speak to a child firmly to let them know
they have done something wrong

g. treatment that causes harm to a person

h. not extreme
i. cruel and violent
j. stupid
k. persuade someone not to do something
l. switch from plan A to the less desirable
plan B

Over to you
1. What does the writer say that you particularly agree with or disagree with? Is there
anything he says which you think is correct? Is there anything which is mistaken?
2. What is your response to the two quotations? Can you understand their point of view or
does it seem odd?
3. The writer disagrees with those who want to argue that corporal punishment is a form of
child abuse. What do you think?

WRITING: Write around 220 to 280 words on discipline and corporal punishment in the
home.