Spanking
- This article is about the corrective punishment. For spanking as erotic activity, see erotic spanking.
Spanking is a hotly debated social issue. Questions include whether children should be spanked, whether it is an effective method of discipline and whether it constitutes child abuse.
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2 Arguments against spanking 3 Spanking and the Bible 4 The legal situation 5 External links |
Those who accept spanking often frame the issue as a matter of parental rights, stating that parents have the right to raise their child in the way they consider most appropriate. They also hold that there is little evidence that moderate spanking is harmful. Further, many believe that discipline problems among children have recently increased, and attribute that at least partially to the decline of both parental authority and the use of spanking. Others argue that moderate spanking is simple and effective, while non-spanking disciplines proposed by academic psychologists rely on complicated or unrealistic methods that many parents do not manage to implement successfully.
Another argument is that proper and effective spankings cause only temporary pain and no damage. It has been claimed that when parents and children are engaged in a prolonged struggle for authority, the anger and bitterness that results can cause an emotional estrangement that far outweighs any possible negative effects from moderate spankings.
Finally, there is a widespread and deep skepticism among pro-spankers of all the arguments against spanking, and a general feeling that the practice of spanking recalcitrant children has proven its worth over a period of many centuries. They believe that the bias against spanking is arbitrary and an improper application of egalitarian principles to an inherently unequal social relationship.
Anti-spanking advocates make a number of arguments against spanking, on a number of grounds: chiefly that spanking is abusive, that it is ineffective, and that it teaches children that physical violence is an acceptable way to deal with other people.
Opponents of spanking point out that what has traditionally been regarded as reasonable chastisement would be regarded as assault if carried out on an adult. Many years ago, it was legal for a man to use physical force to "chastise" his wife, an act now regarded as domestic violence and illegal. Some hold that, in time, the act of spanking a child will be regarded in the same way: indeed, in some countries this is already the case. (See below.)
The boundary between spanking and abuse is difficult for even traditionalists to define. Two guides are that the parent doing the spanking must not feel anger at the child or satisfaction at the act of spanking, and that the spanking must not leave any lasting injury. Opponents suggest that both of these may be rationalizations, or a slippery slope.
Opponents also hold that spanking is ineffective and that other forms of discipline are more successful at teaching a child to behave properly.
Opponents also claim that spanking teaches children that violence is an appropriate way to treat those who offend one. Some consider that spanking, as with clear-cut forms of physical abuse, may perpetuate a "cycle of violence" which contributes to violent behavior in adult society as well. Children learn by example, and those subjected to physical violence "for their own good" will, the argument goes, learn that this is an appropriate way to treat others who have wronged them.
Opponents of spanking state that there are numerous methods of non-violent child discipline which are at least as effective as spanking, and without the negative side-effects that they attribute to spanking; see that article for details.
Those opposing traditional discipline have speculated on the links between eroticism and the spanking of children (see also erotic spanking). They correlate the spanking of children as a form of paraphiliac sexual abuse, and also claim that childhood spanking may lead to the development of paraphiliac behavior in later life.
Proponents of spanking find these speculations extremely unconvincing. They assert that there has been no scientific evidence in favor of this speculation.
Some Christians, especially many fundamentalists and evangelicals, often cite various passages in the Bible as either supporting spanking as an acceptable but not required form of discipline or mandating it as a primary source of discipline. While the Bible often speaks of the "rod", it is debated among Christians whether this refers to corporal punishment or to parental authority. Few Christian advocates of corporal punishment believe an actual rod must be used and consider the hand, when used to spank, as an acceptable substitute.
Some Bible passages quoted in support of spanking include:
·Proverb 13:24 which says "He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes (diligently)." (See the external link “What the Bible says About Spanking” below for more examples.)
·Prov 19:18: "Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying."
·Prov 19:18: "Chasten thy son while there is hope, and let not thy soul spare for his crying."
·Prov 29:15: "The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame."
Christian opponents of spanking disagree that spanking is mandated by God. One reason is because of the way the Hebrew word "rod" (shebet) is used. See the external link, "The Rod or Shebet: An Indepth Study" Another reason is the Hebrew word for "son" in the "spanking verses" is na'ar, which is used to refer only to older young men, not children. Another argument is that during biblical times, their was little knowledge with regards to non-violent disciplinary methods such that spanking was viewed as necessary. They also believe that proper discipline even if not by way of spanking is more important to God. Thus effective use of non-violent disciplinary methods would be acceptable in God’s eyes.
Some Bible passages quoted in opposition to spanking include:
·"Correct your son, and he will give you comfort; He will also delight your soul." Proverbs 29:17
·"Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me." Matthew 25:40
·"Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord." Ephesians 6:4
·"Fathers, do not exasperate your children, so that they will not lose heart." Colossians 3:21
Corporal punishment of children in school remains legal in about two dozen U.S states, although it is commonly practiced only in the South. There are states where school officials have lost their jobs for spanking students. Spanking of children within families is illegal in some countries (for example, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway, Austria, Germany, Italy, Cyprus, Croatia, Israel and Latvia). Similar initiatives in the U.S. have repeatedly failed. Parental rights groups have formed since the 1990s to prevent spanking from being criminalized. The argument for spanking
Arguments against spanking
Alternatives to spanking
Other criticisms and questions about spanking
Spanking and the Bible
The legal situation