Discipline and Negative Effects of Spanking

By Marshashari

When trying to improve your child’s behavior, working together and communication is key. At times you may lose your temper or say things you can’t back. That’s not an easy job. Disciplining a child isn’t easy. The challenge for parents is to approach discipline as a learning experience not just a punishment. Keep reading and learning what I try to keep in mind about discipline.

Discipline and spanking are not interchangeable terms, but both have different meanings. Discipline is the way to train or guide someone under the rules or a code of conduct to make the child adopt the desirable behavior. On the other hand, spanking is the actual suffering for the past behavior done otherwise.

Discipline means to teach or to show to someone without any physical punishment or mental torture. Children learn new skills, good behavior when they follow discipline relating to routine life. It is the proven fact that discipline helps prevent many behavioral problems, therefore, the children learn from their mistakes without any fear. Prizes and rewards encourage your child’s positive behavior. It is necessary to teach your child about rules & regulations from the very beginning. The children can learn through discipline about the right choice, and show positive behavior.

Unfortunately, most parents consider the punishment instrumental when they talk about making the child obey them. In olden times, parents and teachers believed that there is no way to discipline a child except spanking or hurting him/her physically besides scolding him/her aggressively. Though the trend has declined to a great extent due to general awareness among parents & teachers, this menace still prevails in society like coronavirus.

Since after outspread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) everyone is feared for its negative effects and strictly adheres to the SOPs on wearing face masks, using hand sanitizers, and keeping distance, but not thinking beyond the mask & allied. The fact is that scolding, spanking, discipline, or physical punishments to innocent children have also negative effects and the same is considered more counterproductive than the menace of coronavirus. Let me tell you that hurting a child physically is not as harmful as negative discipline and spanking is. Various studies have recently lime-lighted the dangerous effects of the discipline method and most of them are that it snubs the mental & physical growth of a child.

Elizabeth Gershoff, Ph. D is an Associate Professor of Human Development and Family Sciences at the University of Texas; she concludes that spanking makes children behave worse over the long term and they get harder on parents.

Parents think that discipline and spanking will bring a positive behavioral change in their teenage children, but it is not so because the prolonged attitude of the parents may derail them instead of polishing their abilities. The parents should never compare their child with their understanding level; otherwise, it will hurt the parent & the child relationship. The proverb “prevention is better than cure” fits here well. So, it is sensible to stop the bad habit of punishing or scolding the child today to avoid experiencing awful problems & worse health issues or damages tomorrow. Therefore, it is earnestly advised that parents should not attempt physical punishment on their children just for their childish behavior.

There is no denying the fact that your child will show instant compliance when you show aggression, threaten him/her of dire consequences, or be subject to physical punishment, but the fear will go away soon and you will find the child doing even worse activities than before.

The researchers and analysts keep performing different studies to prove the adverse & negative effects of spanking. A similar study was performed wherein 50 years’        meta-analysis was carried out on spanking relating to Family Psychology on more than 160,000 children in a meta-analysis in the Journal, especially on the following issues:

The study proved that spanking children is the potential cause leading them to long-term behavioral problems such as mental health & self-esteemed-problems. Moreover, the study has also revealed that the parents have found the children doing the opposite whatever was expected of them to do. Therefore, keeping in view the severe consequences of spanking, the American Academy of Pediatrics and some other professional societies have strictly been opposing the act of spanking including other physical punishments.

The surveillance shows that teachers consider spanking an effective tool of discipline in the classroom. Similarly, parents feel satisfied if they deal with their children at home aggressively. The behavior does not prove successful in regulating the emotions of teenagers. On the other hand, positive discipline, dealing with kids affectionately and tactfully may prove more effective,

Spanking has numerous adverse effects on the physical & mental health of a child; however, in this article, we shall discuss only the following three:  

1. Aggressive Behavior:   

Like other acts (good or bad), spanking has unfavorable feedback but at a later stage. Studies such as Straus & Gelles in 1990 and Wolfe in 1987 were carried out and the same have proved that the children had aggressive behaviors later in life just for being spanked by the parents. Therefore, coach your children properly so that they may lead their future life without any fret & fear.

2. Low- Self-Esteemed and Health Problem:  

The studies were undertaken in different countries of the world and the U.S.A. and have shown the adverse effects of spanking in the long run. The problem of parent and child antisocial behavior and similar other attitude problems & reactions have been noticed in the young generation with great concern. The insulting behavior either on the part of parents or teachers may cause the following issues:

3.  Parent-child Relationship: 

Parents must keep in mind that spanking can bulldoze the natural relationship of parent & child.  The parents should nurture positive behavior with their children for long-lasting positive relationships and they should avoid spanking or punishing them physically. Therefore, the children of preschool, school, and teenagers should be avoided from unforeseen problems like anxiety and depression disorders that may breed due to undue threat. Moreover, the physical punishments & low-self-esteem build up unnecessary pressure on the child that also results in the breach of trust and the natural connection between the child and the parent.

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