Before reading ahead, please take the following poll:
Who Spanks & When is it Abuse?
Regardless of your thoughts on spanking, there comes a time when a person crosses a certain invisible, yet fairly acknowledged, line between a harmless spank and what could possibly be considered abuse.The problem I try to address here is a simple one; where exactly does that line lie? Yet I’m afraid the debate is not as simple as the question it arises, but before we get to that point we have to start at the core of the subject; spanking and those who spank.
Before anything else we have to understand that like in every other debate, there are people at both ends of the argument, opinions varying from parents to professionals. According to the article ‘To spank or not to spank’, parents who spank are usually referred to as “old-school” parents, and those who do not spank are called “new school” parents. When it comes to professional opinions, the majority all seemed to agree that one should never spank a child. The reason why the grand majority of professionals are against spanking, or any type of physical punishment for that matter, it’s because they strongly believe that spanking usually fails to correct the child’s behavior. Instead professionals argue that the action is demeaning, intimidating and embarrassing for the child; they also specifically pointed out that spanking would sooner or later lead to physical abuse, whether unintentionally or deliberately.
In the article, most parents who were interviewed seemed to be parents who used to spank but now don’t and actually feel they are better parents now that they don’t spank than they were before when they practiced spanking. Nonetheless there are some parents who argue that sometimes, in a wise measure, spanking is necessary to discipline children. According to these types of parents, there are times that time-outs and nice talking don’t work, and a small spanking is needed. What both parents and professionals from both sides of the issue seemed to agree with was the notion that one should never spank a child in anger. Another interesting fact found in ‘To spank or not to spank’ is that the ethnic groups with the most physical discipline-turned-abuse cases in the United States are African Americans, followed by Whites and then Hispanics. In my humble interpretation of the article, I concluded that there should be a balance when it comes to disciplining a child. Physical punishment is strongly discouraged, but I feel that sometimes a small spanking is needed if the child is old enough to understand, and you act with a cool head and measure your actions. Again, that is only my conclusion based on the article. After reading ‘To spank or not to spank’ I wanted to know what college students like myself thought about the subject, which lead me to the following research article and statistics.
In the article, most parents who were interviewed seemed to be parents who used to spank but now don’t and actually feel they are better parents now that they don’t spank than they were before when they practiced spanking. Nonetheless there are some parents who argue that sometimes, in a wise measure, spanking is necessary to discipline children. According to these types of parents, there are times that time-outs and nice talking don’t work, and a small spanking is needed. What both parents and professionals from both sides of the issue seemed to agree with was the notion that one should never spank a child in anger. Another interesting fact found in ‘To spank or not to spank’ is that the ethnic groups with the most physical discipline-turned-abuse cases in the United States are African Americans, followed by Whites and then Hispanics. In my humble interpretation of the article, I concluded that there should be a balance when it comes to disciplining a child. Physical punishment is strongly discouraged, but I feel that sometimes a small spanking is needed if the child is old enough to understand, and you act with a cool head and measure your actions. Again, that is only my conclusion based on the article. After reading ‘To spank or not to spank’ I wanted to know what college students like myself thought about the subject, which lead me to the following research article and statistics.
While reading "To spank or not to spank: The Effect of Situation and Age of Child on Support for Corporal Punishment." I was surprise to find out that the majority of American college students favor corporal punishment as a form of discipline. However, even if some accept spanking in general, there are those who support the use of spanking depending on various factors like the age of the child and the context of the situation at hand. Corporal Punishment was viewed suitable when the child’s misbehavior violated strong held social norms like stealing or if the behavior was strongly disrespectful towards a parent or a respected elder. The study showed the grand majority of people found spanking appropriate for preschool ages 3-4 and early school age children of 7-9 years of age, than they did with older children from eleven years of age and up. Two key factors that determined strong support or opposition for corporal punishment were gender and race. Males and blacks showed more supportfor corporal punishment than females and whites. All in all, this study showed a strong support for spanking, although there was evidence of a lot of conflicts of ideas and attitudes regarding spanking, especially among female and white groups.
Now that we’ve seen where the majority of people stand on the issue of spanking, I would like to introduce a real-life court case that took place in Ontario, Canada in order to introduce the main argument presented as to where one should draw the line between spanking and abuse. In this particular case the court had to decide if the corporal punishment method a mother, Mrs. Klassen, used on her four-year old son was physical abuse or a plain spanking.
The newspaper article "Changing the Rules" reports that everything started when the woman’s four year old skipped his homeschooling classes and decided to play outside. The mother found out and scolded the child, spanking him once on his bottom. Yet the child threw an even bigger tantrum, which caused the mother to spank him again, but this time with a foot-long pine stick she calls the Rod. This is where she crossed the line from disciplinary corporal punishment into abuse. She was charged with assault and found guilty by the Ontario provincial court. What was interesting to me was that many people, including the judge, agreed that the Mrs. Klassen was really not a bad person; she just chose the wrong form of punishment for her son. Despite her belief that what she was doing was right, Mrs. Klassen broke the law. Like the judge appointed to the case, Judge Saul Nosanchuk, said; "There are parents who believe 'Spare the rod and spoil the child.' But that's not what the laws of Canada say (Nosanchuk 29)”. I found this quote extremely interesting because it clearly points out the different of points of view the legal system and many parents hold regarding spanking. Their sense of what is acceptable is entirely different.
One notable opinion regarding Mrs. Klassen’s case and what it said about acceptable corporal punishment came from Crown prosecutor Lloyd Dean in which he stated that "the force used by Mrs. Klassen was excessive, not necessarily because it left marks, but because of the use of a stick and the age of the child," and that, "had she perhaps spanked with her hand a few times, we would not have prosecuted. When she put something in her hand, that's when it crossed the line. (Dean 29)”. Based off Mr. Dean’s statement, it appeared to me that what made the difference between a spanking and physical abuse in this case was a rod. Another notable opinion regarding this case was by the author of “I'll be the Parent, You be the Kid”, Paul Kropp. He said that "what Mrs. Klassen did was not spanking: it was beating... when a child ought to be spanked, it should be done quickly, with a hand (Kropp 29)”.
By taking these professional observations into account, I dare say that one crosses that fragile line from spanking and into abuse the moment one leaves marks on the child, and if one uses an object to spank a child. Yet I find this idea to be a very vague one because surely one does not need an object to spank someone to a point of abuse; and surely the idea of what is considered ‘physical abuse’ also varies from person to person, so how is someone to know when they’ve crossed that line?
This is why I have to agree with professor Murray A. Straus, author of the book “Beating the Devil out of Them: Corporal Punishment in American Families and its Effects on Children” that there is no need to spank a child to begin with, especially not if you can obtain the same, if not better results, by using other methods of discipline. In his book Straus explains that having strong communication with your child and making them understand why they can’t do something or why they’re being punished is a key element in order to accomplish good discipline. It’s the best place to start before deciding to take any other measures of punishment.
In a study the book used as an example, 3 children with serious conduct problems and their parents were studied. The parents were told never to spank, instead they were asked to follow certain norms like “setting clear standards to what is expected of their child, providing lots of love and affection, explaining things to the child, and recognizing and rewarding good behavior... (Straus 150)”. The end results were astonishing, since all three children’s behavior dramatically improved after spanking ended. The author also provided some strong points against the use of spanking that speak to the logic of a lot of people. Some examples are that eventually spanking becomes less and less effective over time and when children get bigger, spanking becomes difficult or next to impossible. So then what are parents going to use, if spanking has been all they’ve known as a disciplinarian method? What is more, children who are spanked carry the risk of one day suffering serious psychological effects to spanking that don’t show up until later on in the child’s life (Straus 151).
According to a study ran by the Medical Association CMAJ, individuals who were spanked often during their childhood presented a significantly higher rate ofanxiety disorders and/or alcohol abuse due to possible long-term psychiatric effects caused because of childhood spanks. A huge key point in the study was the linear association found in the frequency of which a person was spanked as a child and the possible psychiatric effects they may have later in life. The more often the child was spanked, the higher the psychiatric problems reported in the study. Some of the psychiatric affects that can manifest later in the life of a child that is constantly spanked are: anxiety disorders (like social phobia, agoraphobia, and simple phobia); panic disorders and depressive disorders; alcohol or drug abuse or dependency, and anti social behavior in general (MacMillan 1).
At the end you’re doing your child more harm than good by spanking him. Not only are you automatically risking committing physical abuse, you’re also possibly causing your child a psychological disorder. Why spank and cause your child unnecessary anguish and pain if you can obtain the same-if not better- behavior correction results by not spanking instead?
This can help your child have a healthy childhood and future; think about it.
The newspaper article "Changing the Rules" reports that everything started when the woman’s four year old skipped his homeschooling classes and decided to play outside. The mother found out and scolded the child, spanking him once on his bottom. Yet the child threw an even bigger tantrum, which caused the mother to spank him again, but this time with a foot-long pine stick she calls the Rod. This is where she crossed the line from disciplinary corporal punishment into abuse. She was charged with assault and found guilty by the Ontario provincial court. What was interesting to me was that many people, including the judge, agreed that the Mrs. Klassen was really not a bad person; she just chose the wrong form of punishment for her son. Despite her belief that what she was doing was right, Mrs. Klassen broke the law. Like the judge appointed to the case, Judge Saul Nosanchuk, said; "There are parents who believe 'Spare the rod and spoil the child.' But that's not what the laws of Canada say (Nosanchuk 29)”. I found this quote extremely interesting because it clearly points out the different of points of view the legal system and many parents hold regarding spanking. Their sense of what is acceptable is entirely different.
One notable opinion regarding Mrs. Klassen’s case and what it said about acceptable corporal punishment came from Crown prosecutor Lloyd Dean in which he stated that "the force used by Mrs. Klassen was excessive, not necessarily because it left marks, but because of the use of a stick and the age of the child," and that, "had she perhaps spanked with her hand a few times, we would not have prosecuted. When she put something in her hand, that's when it crossed the line. (Dean 29)”. Based off Mr. Dean’s statement, it appeared to me that what made the difference between a spanking and physical abuse in this case was a rod. Another notable opinion regarding this case was by the author of “I'll be the Parent, You be the Kid”, Paul Kropp. He said that "what Mrs. Klassen did was not spanking: it was beating... when a child ought to be spanked, it should be done quickly, with a hand (Kropp 29)”.
By taking these professional observations into account, I dare say that one crosses that fragile line from spanking and into abuse the moment one leaves marks on the child, and if one uses an object to spank a child. Yet I find this idea to be a very vague one because surely one does not need an object to spank someone to a point of abuse; and surely the idea of what is considered ‘physical abuse’ also varies from person to person, so how is someone to know when they’ve crossed that line?
This is why I have to agree with professor Murray A. Straus, author of the book “Beating the Devil out of Them: Corporal Punishment in American Families and its Effects on Children” that there is no need to spank a child to begin with, especially not if you can obtain the same, if not better results, by using other methods of discipline. In his book Straus explains that having strong communication with your child and making them understand why they can’t do something or why they’re being punished is a key element in order to accomplish good discipline. It’s the best place to start before deciding to take any other measures of punishment.
In a study the book used as an example, 3 children with serious conduct problems and their parents were studied. The parents were told never to spank, instead they were asked to follow certain norms like “setting clear standards to what is expected of their child, providing lots of love and affection, explaining things to the child, and recognizing and rewarding good behavior... (Straus 150)”. The end results were astonishing, since all three children’s behavior dramatically improved after spanking ended. The author also provided some strong points against the use of spanking that speak to the logic of a lot of people. Some examples are that eventually spanking becomes less and less effective over time and when children get bigger, spanking becomes difficult or next to impossible. So then what are parents going to use, if spanking has been all they’ve known as a disciplinarian method? What is more, children who are spanked carry the risk of one day suffering serious psychological effects to spanking that don’t show up until later on in the child’s life (Straus 151).
According to a study ran by the Medical Association CMAJ, individuals who were spanked often during their childhood presented a significantly higher rate ofanxiety disorders and/or alcohol abuse due to possible long-term psychiatric effects caused because of childhood spanks. A huge key point in the study was the linear association found in the frequency of which a person was spanked as a child and the possible psychiatric effects they may have later in life. The more often the child was spanked, the higher the psychiatric problems reported in the study. Some of the psychiatric affects that can manifest later in the life of a child that is constantly spanked are: anxiety disorders (like social phobia, agoraphobia, and simple phobia); panic disorders and depressive disorders; alcohol or drug abuse or dependency, and anti social behavior in general (MacMillan 1).
At the end you’re doing your child more harm than good by spanking him. Not only are you automatically risking committing physical abuse, you’re also possibly causing your child a psychological disorder. Why spank and cause your child unnecessary anguish and pain if you can obtain the same-if not better- behavior correction results by not spanking instead?
This can help your child have a healthy childhood and future; think about it.
By: Nancy Duran
Now that you've read my page, please take the poll one last time and tell me if your opinion has changed or remained the same. Thank You.
