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Are you the type of parent who believes that sparing the rod will spoil your child? If you have this mind set, then you would likely think that it is okay to spank your children especially when they are misbehaving. Spanking has been a way of disciplining a child, and a large percentage of parents are using this method to punish their children, but the big question is: is it really wrong to spank a child?
Although advocates of corporal punishment would say that, it is okay to spank a child hitting actually models hitting. You should not be caught by surprise if one day your child hit you, and other people, because he will think that hitting is considered normal as you too are doing it.
Spanking sends a signal to your children that it is okay to hit other people. In the context of parenting, the parent is the stronger individual and the child is the weaker one. Your child will develop a mindset that there is nothing wrong with hitting weaker people. It can really be stressful when your children start to throw tantrums and misbehave, but spanking is no way to tame them. In fact, you are posing more threat to them by using this form of discipline.
Hitting or spanking can result in various psychological effects on children such as; having a low self-esteem and the lacking in the ability to trust people. Your children will even be more prone to violence if you are in the habit of spanking them whenever they misbehave. The child may also develop aggressive behavior as spanking sets a bad example.
Instead of spanking your child you should try other forms of discipline such as, taking a time out. You can deny your child of computer or TV privileges, to let him, or she knows that what they did was wrong. It is also important to talk to the child as misbehavior in children does not always mean that they are not listening to you, but they rather need some attention from you.
You should learn to listen to what they are not saying instead of spanking them. You should also let them realize that their behavior is unacceptable. If you are stressed at work and you cannot seem to take their annoying tantrums anymore, do not displace your stress and frustrations on them. You too should take a time out, and talk to them once you have calmed down. If your purpose of spanking is to pacify your children, you should be aware that lifting your hands can have long term effects on children.
Karen Riley is a versatile writer and researcher in the areas of medicine, pharmacy, psychology, social work, and sociology. Her work mostly includes academic papers and research articles, as well as web articles and blogs.