Spanking and Child Development

Spanking and Child Development

Spanking is a controversial issue in early childhood development due to its impact on children’s emotional and psychological well-being. According to Gershoff (1), parents use spanking to punish misconduct, reduce the recurrence of undesirable conduct, and increase the likelihood of desirable conduct. The author argues that spanking is not an effective form of punishment because it creates physical pain, which can be frightening and confusing for children, especially when hit by a person they respect, love, and rely on (Gershoff 3). The author also argues that spanking may create undesirable outcomes. She concludes that spanking is harmful to children and cannot be considered an effective form of punishment. She adds that there is a moral reason for discouraging spanking because spanking is violence. The author also argues that parents use the term spanking to justify hitting their children, thus accepting spanking as a form of punishment. She recommends condemning spanking as a disciplinary measure because it causes more problems than what it is intended to solve.

Personal views on spanking

I believe spanking should be embraced as an acceptable disciplinary action because it deters undesirable behavior among children by creating fear. When a child is spanked for doing something wrong, they are likely to remember the pain the next time they are tempted to do something wrong, thus refraining from undesirable behavior. Children may also be reluctant to do something wrong when they see another child being spanked for doing the same thing. However, it is important to set boundaries on the force parents should use when spanking their children. Excessive force should be discouraged because it promotes aggression and may have lasting emotional and psychological issues among children. The right to spank a child should also be limited to parents. Therefore, teachers should be prohibited from spanking children to avoid creating a hostile learning environment and poor development of a child’s socio-emotional skills. Learning institutions should set clear policies prohibiting spanking and ensure that teachers understand the consequences of spanking children in the learning setting.

Works Cited

Gershoff, Elizabeth T. “Spanking and Child Development: We Know Enough Now to Stop Hitting Our Children.” Child Development Perspectives, vol. 7, no. 3, 2013, pp. 1-6.

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Spanking can be a very touchy subject among early childhood educators; locate an article on spanking and review it here.

Spanking and Child Development

Be sure to 1) list the title of the article, 2) state where you found the article, 3) discuss the main points covered in the article in at least 2 paragraphs (8-10 sentences PER paragraph), and also 4) give at least a paragraph regarding your personal views on spanking (8-10 sentences). Please number your sections of this assignment as laid out above.