Corporal Punishment - Spanking

Spencer Smith        

Renee Hill

Eng. Comp I

14 November 2011

Spanking

         Here you will learn that the negative, long term effects of spanking children far outweigh any short-term results gained from striking a child. This form of punishment called spanking has become a hot topic, worthy of both debate and discussion.  Some people are all for it, others frown upon it.  Those who use physical forms of punishment have their reasons why it is ok.  On the opposite end, many have come to the conclusion that it is a detrimental and ineffective way to teach children right from wrong (Sultan 1).  

        The definition of spanking is “to strike on the buttocks with an open hand.”  If a doctor was asked what spanking meant most would say it is a form of punishment used with the intent to correct behavior problems as long as it does not cause long term injury to the child.  From a parent’s perspective, it can mean a variety of things such as a smack, whipping, or beating.  Some parents also spank frequently while there are others who might only spank one time a week. You have the everyday spankers and there are still others that never spank their child (O’Callaghan 1).  According to the laws in the United States, corporal punishment is legal as long as it is on a kid.  Although it is legal, spanking can cause injuries or emotional scaring as well as mental problems.  A fine line is drawn between whether or not it is punishment or abuse. If all it does is momentarily scare and/or hurt the child with no long term effects then it is ok.  Spanking is declared abuse if the child is injured and that is against the law.  If there are long term effects from spanking, such as kids being mean or aggressive, problems with nervousness and anxiety, or low self-respect then it is not permitted (Straus 7).  

Spanking is legal in all fifty states, but it is also banned by thirteen countries throughout the world.  After the survey taken in 1997, it was made available that around sixty-five percent of the people poled in the United States were for spanking.  This percentage decreased about nine percent since the same survey was taken in 1946 (Library 1).  According to one study, about twenty six percent of parents that had children thought that they should be spanked if they act up at school.  This percentage went up when considering only people from the south as that population; particularly African-American families do not consider spanking as harsh.  The statistics are more even when looking at the rest of the country compared to the south.  Out of the people that voted, ninety percent of parents that had kids around the age of three said they had spanked their children at some point in time.  Two year olds were spanked the most on average of about eighteen times a year (possibly due to the “terrible twos”), while teens are only spanked roughly six times throughout the year.  Spanking a two year old has been proven to be traumatizing (Library 2).  Mothers of kid’s ages one to three say they think spanking is acceptable and the best way to get a child that ages attention.  This was stated by seventy-four percent of the mothers that were poled.  Another study shows over fifty percent of parents think spanking should be used.  A variety of reasons support why these percentages are what they are.  Parents of children in the south spank their offspring the most.  Middle and upper class families have a slightly lower spanking percentage compared to those of the lower class.  One of the last factors in spanking is race.  The parents of young black children spank more often than American, Hispanic or other nationalities (O’ Callaghan 1).