Reading Response: The Flowers And Superman And Me

Table of Contents

Is spanking okay?

The initial segment

Section Two

Is spanking okay?

Section One

Many parents are not aware of the negative consequences that spanking can have. Studies have shown that spanking, as well as other forms of corporal punishment, can cause aggression, antisocial behaviour, physical injury and mental health issues in children. Children who have been spanked, or physically punished in any way are more likely to use hitting to resolve conflicts with their peers and siblings. Children who have been physically punished may also become adults who punish their children physically. This is because many adults, who were spanked when they were children, feel that it was a good thing.

If you hit your child, they may develop antisocial behaviors and mental health issues in the future. Research shows that “among adults 2 to 7 percent are attributable for mental disorders, including paranoia, major depression and anxiety disorder” (Live Science). The relationship between spanked children and their parents was also worse. They “had lower moral internalization” which meant that they could not determine if something was wrong just because it would get them smacked. Physical punishment is a temporary way to stop ‘problem behaviors’. However, it doesn’t work over the long run. Children don’t learn right or wrong, they learn how to avoid being slapped. It is not a good idea to spank your children to teach them the right and wrong behaviors.

One study sought to answer “whether spanking was associated with negative child outcomes after studies were conducted without using harsh or potentially abusive methods” (Gershoff). According to the findings, spanking is similar in intensity and direction in its effects on children as are harsher types. Both spankings and other forms of physical violence are the result of parents hurting children intentionally, often in response to their misbehavior. Parents do not recognize spanking as physical abuse. But this study, and others, show that spanking can have negative effects.

Part two If spanking isn’t working, what else can you do? Many parents are asking themselves this question and it is one of the reasons why they still use spanking to deter a child from displaying problematic behavior. The American Academy of Pediatrics says that effective discipline has three major components.

Positive reinforcement is used to encourage desired behavior. Punishment or removal of reinforcement are also effective in reducing or eliminating unwanted behaviors.

It is important that the parent-child relationship be positive in order to make discipline techniques effective. This is one of the reasons why spankings don’t work. They create fear, and create negative attitudes about a relationship. AAP part two promotes positive encouragement. Want to encourage your child’s behavior? You can reward them if you catch them in action! You can reinforce any behavior that you see, such as cleaning up your toys or helping another person. When we observe a child cleaning themselves up, for example, in the preschool where i work, we will say something like, “I’m really impressed with how So-and So does it!” or, “I think So-and So did the right thing!” Validating good behavior in a child will encourage them to keep doing it. A child’s positive behavior is not guaranteed to continue just because they did it once. However, if you reward them for their positive actions by praising, encouraging, or rewarding them, they will likely continue.

There are many ways to change or stop a child’s negative or unwanted behavior. Redirection is a good choice for younger kids if their unwanted behavior is not causing harm or danger to anyone. One of my preschoolers might be running in circles and throwing themselves onto the carpet at activity time. I could redirect them instead of trying to put them into timeout. I may say, “So, and so, this project is really important to me, but I would like some help from you at the table of art!” Bring them to the table and let them see it. The child may not always behave badly, but it’s more likely that they are bored. By redirecting their attention to something else, I’ve given them a place to focus. The sayings “I know that you will do the best thing” and “You know what to do” are also popular in my preschool. They help the children focus on the positive. When a kid hears, “You’re capable of doing what you want to”, it means that their behavior isn’t right. You can also remove reinforcement or apply punishment to stop negative behavior. In the schools where I worked, we focused more on eliminating reinforcement than punishing.

We might, for example, tell a child who interrupts circle-time that, if it happens again, he or she will have to be the last person to select their choice activity. The child won’t be prevented from taking part in activities or punished negatively, but will be denied the opportunity to select their activity before other children. If this does not work for one child, I will have them take a short break and leave the circle. If the child really isn’t paying attention, this may be needed.

I think the best forms of discipline involve redirection. Negative discipline methods such as spanking, time-outs, verbal criticism, and verbal reprimands are ineffective and do not teach a child which behaviors to avoid or replicate. To discipline a child safely and fairly, reinforce good behaviors and redirect bad ones.