Spare the rod Spoil the Child... vs. What's best? (Spankings)
The phrase "spare the rod, spoil the child" is commonly used today. It is referring to the spanking of a child as discipline. The phrase comes from a Bible verse and many people believe that it means if you do not punish a child for wrongdoing, then you are spoiling him or her.
Today, Americans are split 50/50 on the issue of spanking. In recent years, experts of many different fields are very critical towards this type of punishment. As more information comes forth about a child's emotional and psychological development, physical punishment is being attacked more often. Spanking is the biggest part of debate in politics of parenting. There is great controversy whether spanking a child is accepted as discipline or not. Some parents are behind this method and others stand strongly against it.
Pros of Spanking
Spanking has been shown to be effective if used short-term to get children to change behaviors and also very effective in children ages 2 to 6 when used with mild methods of discipline such as time-out and reasoning. A recent study shows that reasoning combined with spanking has the most success in changing a child's negative behavior. Spanking is something that happens rather quickly when it is used and delivers a strong method in behavior changing. There is no need to spend a lot of time trying to communicate with a child when spanking is used.
Those people who support spanking have argued that for some children's wrongdoings, they need to experience some kind of natural consequence; or the association between cause and effect. And when this does not occur, spanking needs to be used to associate negativity with wrong behavior.
Cons of Spanking
There are many people who believe spanking increases aggressiveness, delinquency and antisocial behavior in children. Failure to learn between right and wrong, mental illnesses, child or spouse abuse and criminal behavior have also been stated as weaker associations. The physical punishment of spanking sends the wrong message to children reinforcing aggressive behavior. Spanking shows that physical aggression is simply a way to be able to get what you want and that violence is the way to solve a problem.
The nurturing role of a parent is thought to be put at risk when spanking is used as discipline with a child. Spanking is often associated with a poor relationship between a child and his parent. Children who have been spanked tend to feel less attached to parents and trust them less. It is believed that the more a child is spanked, the less close the relationship is between the parent and child.
