Kerry Flores English 12 Ms.

Floch Argument Essay Spanking your children Is spanking your child as a form of discipline an appropriate way to teach them that their actions were wrong? Do children actually learn from being spanked? Spanking your children can send mixed signals, is it getting the point a crossed? For some parents they believe that spanking a child doesnt actually teach them a lesson. In a study performed by Dr. Bruce Lipton about learning and fear; he found that kids cant actually learn or think in a higher caliber. The article written by Kim Olver on the site PsychCentral.com she reported his study saying, The work of Dr. Bruce Lipton has shown us that it is biologically impossible to learn and implement higher-order thinking when fearful this creates the argument that since the child is afraid of being spanked then they will not actually learn their lesson or think clearly about what they did wrong. However that may not be the case. Even though children are afraid of being spanked, they are conscious of their actions beforehand. When a child does something they are not afraid of being spanked so therefore they are thinking clearly and are aware that what they are doing wrong. Furthermore, when a child is in trouble it starts with the parent(s) usually expressing their frustration to the child telling them that what they did was wrong and asking questions like what they were thinking or what they were doing. This shows that they are not putting fear into the child to discipline them; the spanking is just to show them that their actions have reactions. Not to make the child afraid. Another argument that parents have for not spanking their children is that it causes them to be more aggressive. In the article Spare the Rod written my Alan Kazdin he writes The

negative effects on children include aggression in other words he believes that when you hit your child then that makes them more aggressive towards other children. The belief is that when a child gets spanked they think that it is okay to hit other children. However this does not happen. When a child is aggressive they are going to be punished for the ill temperament, thus the spanking is not causing the aggression. They were aggressive beforehand, and the spanking is displaying that the aggression was wrong and that they must suffer the consequences. If you try and just tell the child that it was wrong then they will think that it is okay to do it again because they wont have to face any consequences. This will result in repeat offenses and will not allow the child to learn that they must face the consequences of their actions. They will think that they can forever do what they want and not have to worry about it afterwards. In a study conducted by Majorie Gunnoe, she interviewed 2,600 people and found that the adults who were spanked occasionally as kids eventually became more successful in life. Those kids who were spanked had a high rate of high school graduation and college attendants than those of which had not been spanked. Gunnoe is a psychologist who has studied spanking and its affects for 10 years. And says The claims for not spanking children dont hold up. In other words, the people who claim that not spanking your children will allow them to live a more successful life is not true. She believes that if you spank children on occasion after preschool the child will also do more volunteer work when they are older. Another professional who has researched the effects of spanking is Dr. Spock. Dr. Spock says that spanking allows children to ease their conscience. He says that when a child has done something they know is wrong or that goes against their moral they feel guilty, as any human would, and spanking allows the child to feel free of that guilt. He explains this in an interview for

an article titled Why Spanking is Necessary his explanation was Spanking is still necessary because a child has a conscience. A child violates his/her conscience and feels guilty. This child needs to be absolved of guild and forgiven. Punishment/Discipline needs to be administered in such a way as to wipe the slate clean. In conclusion spanking is necessary for children to not only learn that they will have to face consequences for their actions but also to allow them to feel free of guilt. Spanking also correlates with a successful future.

Bibliography
Olver, Kim. "10 Reasons Why You Shouldn't Spank Your Kids | World of Psychology." PsychCentral.com. N.p., 25 Sept. 2011. Web. 21 Mar. 2014. Kazdin, Alan. "Why You Shouldn't Hit Your Kids." Slate Magazine. N.p., 18 June 2013. Web. 21 Mar. 2014. Sheviak, Karen. "Reasons Why Parents Should Not Use Physical Punishment." EHow. Demand Media, 21 May 2011. Web. 21 Mar. 2014. Henderson, Tom. "Researcher Says a Little Spanking Is Good for Kids." ParentDish. N.p., 5 Jan. 2010. Web. 21 Mar. 2014.

Dessinger, Daniel. "Why Spanking Is Necessary | CultureFeast." CultureFeast RSS. N.p., 5 July 2008. Web. 21 Mar. 2014.