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“Spanking is detrimental to children and should be outlawed."

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“Spanking is detrimental to children and should be outlawed."

We often see parents harm their children with their open hands as a disciplinary tactic;

however, it creates more harm than good. Several parents chose disciplinary approaches simply

because they were raised without considering their effects. According to O'Donnell, spanking is

humiliating, inflicts physical damage, and causes resentment and aggression to children.

Spanking can be seen as a form of terrorism where children are taught that problems can be

solved through violence imposed on the weak by strong individuals. According to Caron's New

York Times article, spanking is detrimental and ineffective; the most important relationship to a

child is her parent's; hence, spanking creates fear and violence within the relationship.

Spanking does not help children to learn contemporary social skills and self-control.

Instead, it increases their chances of developing behavioral problems in the future. According to

a report by Dewar on spanking children, spanking acts as a disruption of positive relationships

and makes children adopt defiance and an anti-social intention. Children are still growing and

learning to regulate their impulses and emotions; therefore, they require positive reinforcement

to stay connected.

Spanking teaches children ways of avoiding being caught instead of generating forms of

positive behaviors. In addition, it causes physical harm, which can be viewed as a violation of

children's rights and should be eliminated globally through legislative measures (Dewar, 2021).

Spanking children may seem to work because children may fear being hit, but it proves

detrimental in the long run since it makes a child’s behavior worse. It delays brain development

and increases stress in children. Moreover, it raises the gap in the parent-child relationship.

Overall, spanking is detrimental to children and should be outlawed.

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References

Caron, C. (2018, November 5). Spanking is ineffective and harmful to children, pediatricians’

group says (Published 2018). The New York Times - Breaking News, US News, World

News, and Videos. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/05/health/spanking-harmful-

study-pediatricians.html.

Dewar, G. (2021, May 31). Spanking children: Why does it happen, and what are the

effects? PARENTING SCIENCE. https://parentingscience.com/spanking-children/

O'Donnell, L. M. (2019). How can parents discipline without spanking? Nemours KidsHealth -

the Webs.