Our current discussion in class is around the development of young children and the use of various caregiving practices that promote learning. For many caregivers this means asserting discipline to correct misbehavior - something that when we think about it, is actually a part of parenting throughout a child's life. We guide, teach, mentor, promote and occasionally correct. And 'power assertion' is part of that continuum that can be displayed a number of ways. You noted these yourselves with your accounts of your parents' giving you time outs, grounding you, or raising their voices.
Yet with young children, parents may also assert physical assertion of power through spanking. In your survey responses most of you indicated that you were also spanked, on occasion. For some of you, this might have been once. For a couple of you, spanking was more often, and a few of you never were spanked.
In class we reviewed some of the reasons that parents spank, the perspective of spanking as a realistic practice (again, occasional for many families), and concerns whether its use is occasional or escalated. Discussion about this can be rather divisive, as practices do vary and parenting as passed through culture and social norms, conveys personal beliefs.
Our policies also inform and shape our norms and beliefs. And when it comes to spanking, it is a public policy issue.
This is a map of countries' policies on spanking:
And Canada is considering a repeal of law that allows (by not prohibiting) spanking by parents and those who serve as proxies for parents - teachers:
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2016/02/01/spanking-law_n_9133170.html
This is the section of the law related to spanking:
"Every schoolteacher, parent or person standing in the place of a parent is justified in using force by way of correction toward a pupil or child, as the case may be, who is under his care, if the force does not exceed what is reasonable under the circumstances."Corporal punishment bans exist for teachers and in classrooms. Yet this opens the door to include parents and is non-exclusive to public buildings or publicly-provided services.
What do you think?
Since our country also lives by state by state laws, if Governor Dayton proposed legislation that would disallow parents and teachers from spanking (as it is defined as 'with a hand' and 'intentionally bringing about pain, though briefly, how would you vote?
What questions might you ask?
This is NOT at all an easy issue, so your honest and respectful (to each other) opinions are very much welcome and requested.
I have very mixed feelings about spanking, as many of us might. I don't ever remember being spanked as a child, or witnessing my older brothers being spanked. Maybe my parents didn't believe in it (I haven't asked) or possibly we didn't misbehave in ways that would upset my parents severe enough to use physical force. That being said, I think spanking should only be used in cases were all other forces (raising voices, time outs, etc.) do not work and the behavior is negative enough that it needs to be corrected.
ReplyDeleteWith this in mind, I don't think a law would prevent parents who already spank, to discontinue their punishment behaviors. I completely agree with countries such as Austria and Norway that in the rare occasion where corporal punishment is legal, the "smacks" should be very light. I think having these guidelines might help parents reconsider their actions, but I don't think a law would prevent parents who strongly believe in spanking to stop. Susan: Have you seen any research on how effective laws are? I am curious.
In an ideal world, I would like to see spanking be diminished as I don't deem it necessary. As we learned in the article by Smith, there is also substantial evidence that spanking has negative effects on children (aggression, antisocial behavior, low intellectual achievement, poorer quality of the parent-child relationship, mental health problems, etc.). So in sum, a law that is effective in reducing amount of corporal punishment in children would in turn positively affect parents and children in the long-term.
Just realized I went off on a rant and didn't answer the main question. I would vote yes if Gov. Dayton proposed a law to disallow spanking. As mentioned, I would first have to ask how effective laws have been historically and how it would be enforced/punished. Possible punishment could be a short class on the state of research in relation to child outcomes when spanked, along with other discipline mechanisms to promote behavioral change.
DeleteI think spanking is a disciplinary option that should be available to parents; to me, the problem lies mostly within the proper implementation of such measure and the people who employ it. This issue bears similarites to the debate on possession of personal firearms. Let's take Switzerland and USA, for example. In Switzerland, almost 1 in 2 citizens possess a firearm, yet the homicide rates are among the lowest in the world. One of the reasons is that the Swiss government requires military service before one can keep weapons at home, unlike in US, where citizens can buy weapons as long as they aren't underage.
ReplyDeleteEducation makes the key difference, if the government can provide proper parenting education and the adults( caregivers, parents, teachers etc)can become more aware of child development and various consequences of inappropriate spanking, then I think spanking shouldn't be banned.
I would vote yes, even though I am not really against spanking, simply because it is easier and cheaper to just ban a questionable practice altogether, instead of legalizing it and then consequently trying to maintain nation wide policies to regulate spanking, which does not guarantee that adults would not overuse their force, just like guns, especially if the adults are proxies of childrens' parents'.
I would vote yes if Governor Dayton proposed a low to disallow spanking. There are other alternatives for parents to consequence their child besides just spanking. A child might learn their mistakes from the spanking, but they might also learn to hide their mistakes, blame it on someone else, not get caught, or lie so they do not get punished that way again.
ReplyDeleteI would also have to agree with voting yes to disallow spanking. I don't personally believe that instilling fear in a child is an effective disciplinary method. There are a few families, from my past, that used spanking for punishment and not only did it cause children to fear their own parents when they did something "wrong", but it also seemed to have other negative side effects. Like Megan said, there are many resources and alternate methods for discipline and guiding children to learn from their actions. Spanking may teach children what not to do, but I do not necessarily think it teaches them what TO do.
ReplyDeleteOf course I do not think this will eliminate every instance of spanking, but maybe it will help parents to think twice about their actions and if they are really appropriate and necessary for the situation.
I would vote No. This law would border on the line of too much government involvement and invasion of privacy. Yes, there are other forms of correction and punishment for children, but its up to the parents to decide what works best for them and the child. Not all children will respond to timeouts and the word "no," so some parents resort to spanking to correct their child's behavior. I was spanked as a child, with the hand and a belt. As soon as it happened I knew I didn't want to go through that again so I changed how I acted and behaved better. If I didn't listen my dad would ask if I wanted a spanking and I would know to immediately change my behavior or else. Yes, some people can get out of hand and move closer to the abusive and too harsh of punishment when it comes to spanking and overall use of force, but I believe most parents do not act this way. A person quoted in the Huffing Post article stated, "if we have a loving parent relationship...spanking as a resource can be very effective." Spanking is definitely something all parents should have in their "toolbox", but not every parent needs to use it or will use it. Personally, if my child was not listening and I had run out of options on punishment, I would probably spank them. Its direct and gets their attention.Its such a complex issue and I feel this law would just make it harder because it would be hard to monitor and completely abolish spanking. So again, I would vote NO.
ReplyDeleteI would vote No to disallow spanking in the private home and in schools. I agree with Lily that the government shouldn't be involved in the specifics of how parents decide to teach their children how to behave and what those consequences should be. I think it is beneficial as a society to specify what child abuse is and what it is not, and if spanking were disallowed or considered too "abusive" I think it would overwhelm our already overwhelmed and under-served community that is currently relying on social workers to decide whether or not kids should stay in foster care or continue to live at home. I think any effort the government puts towards strengthening parenting and proper discipline in families, should be focused in educational classes that teach parents how to discipline in other ways, how to set clear boundaries and avoid confusing rules and unexpected discipline, and how to spank in such a way that it is not emotionally reactive or harmful to children. I think disallowing spanking in the home doesn't directly address the problem, because parents will spank if they believe it is right and won't if they don't believe it is right, and passing a law may not make much of a difference unless parents decide for themselves what is best for their family.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with Lilly and Madison, that voting No is the best course of action. I think that spanking can be very beneficial for teaching kids right and wrong, respect, and obedience, when it is used in the right manner. Spanking should never cause long-term physical pain or bruise the child. I think that clear guidelines, such as the open-hand spank, are important, but a specific law that disallows spanking seems too invasive and overbearing for the government to rule on. I also liked the point that many of my classmates touched on that says other options for punishment and teaching are available to parents and should be taught to parents through parenting education. There are indeed many other options, however I have seen first hand the usefulness of spanking as a tool for teaching and am a supporter of it. I think that it should be used minimally and under extreme circumstances, but none-the-less I am in support of it.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, I think that the government has control over a lot of things but I don't think disciplinary actions should be one of them. I think that passing a law to ban spanking is the government trying to tell people how to be a parent. I think that all kids are different and have unique learning styles (even for bad behavior) and sometimes the only way to get through to a child is spanking. I was spanked on occasion as a child and I'm not scarred from it by any meanings. I think that parents eventually figure out what works for their children and if the government says they can no longer spank their kids, but it's been known to work for that particular family then the family would probably continue doing it anyways. Then what, were going to arrest parents for disciplining their children in a way that has proven affective for their family? That's dumb and our jails would be full. I don't think spanking is the best disciplinary measure parents can take but just like any punishment it needs to be used in moderation and anyone who abuses that power to the point where its leaving marks on the children, probably shouldn't be parenting to begin with. I don't think parents spank children and think "I hope this hurts them" its more like a technique to says "I'm in charge, you're not".
ReplyDeleteI have mixed views as well. I don’t think that teachers should be able to spank children. But on the other hand, I think that spanking should be allowed in a private home. For children that misbehave, I think that it should be a parent/caregiver’s right to discipline their child, even if that involves spanking. Also, I would like to point out that spanking may be physical or intentional and affect a child to a more or lesser extreme, but there are also much more drastic punishments that some caregivers apply to their children. For example, grounding a child or putting them in a timeout. I think that putting a child in timeout or locking them in a room for an entire day is much harsher than spanking a child for 1-10 minutes…
ReplyDeleteI would vote No to disallow parents from spanking since I don't think that the government should get involved with disciplinary methods of children in families, unless the corporal punishment is becoming abusive. There can be a lot of gray area here, so it is important to clarify what constitutes as spanking and what is going too far. I do not think that teachers should be allowed to spank children, unless the parents give them permission to, and if they are in a private setting, so that they do not embarrass the child. I personally do not think I will spank my kids, but I don't think that it is okay to make it illegal because many parents do use in order to show the child who is in charge and to teach them obedience and respect. However, I feel that it should always be used as a last resort, and only occasionally when the parents have already tried everything else to get the child to listen and behave. Spanking has been effective in the past to discipline children, if the parents stay calm and help to teach the children the consequences of misbehaving. However, if the parents are angry or frustrated, it can send children the wrong message about violence and that it is an appropriate method of getting people to do what you want.
ReplyDeleteI personally feel that Corporal punishment should be a parents right. This is because I feel that children are very different with different personalities and tolerance. They way that they understand to stop and learn from mistakes are different compared to other children of the same age and level. This is why I feel that Corporal punishment should definitely be an option to instill discipline in children especially if the child persists in repeating the mistake. For example, my siblings and I have been shaped in the best way today due to corporal punishment mainly because we were very hard/ stubborn children. We felt that if our parents took away our favorite item or told us to go to our room that we got away with our mistake no matter how serious the problem was and that we didn't really have a problem for being confiscated our favorite items for a certain amount of time. Thus, this tactic really didn't help me and my siblings learn and eventually my parents became more corporal punishment and emotion enforcing which really shaped us.
ReplyDeleteI also feel that it really lies on the intensity of the spanking/Corporal punishment. Parents or teachers should control themselves and their emotions to an extent that the child is not seriously abused, injured or in pain i.e in the case of Adrian Peterson.
In the case of voting I would vote No. I don't think that parents should be disallowed from punishing their children because sometimes it is an appropriate measure according the kind of child they are dealing with and if it gets too alarming or abusive the law should treat it just like any other law under abuse (I.e Domestic violence or child abuse) and dealt with accordingly.
I definitely agree with the fact that parents should be allowed to spank their children, if necessary. Obviously this shouldn't be to go to method of discipline however, depending on the child it could be useful. As long as the parent is in a calm state of mind and knows exactly what she/he is doing, I believe that it can be useful. I can't remember if I was spanked as a child but I've heard my parents' stories about how they were and how quickly they learned after it. There definitely is a fine line when using this method, I think there are risks that could happen with your parent-child relationship if the use of spanking is abused. I do believe that, since the parent is devoting their love, energy, money, and time into this child, they should be able to use whatever (appropriate) tools they can to mold the child into a productive member of society. I definitely do not condone any other form of physical discipline such as Adrian Peterson's use of a switch on his child. That, to me, is a sick and cruel method to make your child afraid of you that will only weaken your relationships and possibly even cause them to act out.
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