Arenales, Sandy
Sociology 4 #0533
April 15th 2016
Spankers and non-spankers
Every parent has a different type of understanding and perspective about spanking
their children. Some parents believe it is necessary to spank their children and some
parents do not agree with it. Every parent is entitled to their way of disciplining their
children as long as it does not become abuse. Spanking puts children at risk in different
ways it can have negative impact in the child’s behavior, it can also confuse their way of
thinking to a point that they think spanking or abuse is normal. The environment
influences behavior. Parents need to be educated about where they receive, their
information about spanking; sometimes people give wrong information about this topic.
It is recommended to get information from pediatricians, health care providers, and
workshops.
The article spankers and nonspankers stated that parent’s attitudes are formed by
the social class they live in as well as the type of education the parents have. Parents that
are well informed and have the appropriateness are less likely to spank their children.
There are different types of corporal punishment for example slapping in the hands or
legs, hitting with a belt, pitching and even a slap in the face. According to a study done
by Straus approximately 67% of all parents report using some type of corporal
punishment (Straus). Corporal punishment can be confusing at times because it depends
on the child’s age.
There are different kinds of characteristics related to spanking; it depends on the
age of the child as well as the age and gender of the parents and the cultural beliefs.
According to the article mothers are more likely to use corporal punishment than fathers
but it is considered the time a parent spends with the child (Dietz, 2000;Wofner &
Galles). A parent past history has a great impact on the corporal punishment they use on
their own children. There are consequences for corporal punishment showed on a
research that states child aggression and maladaptive behaviors are highly to appear.
Severe spanking can lead up to child abuse and there can severe consequence for both the
child and parent.
A national study found 4 out 10 parents wanted advise on information about
disciplining their children not only 23% of parents discussed it with their pediatrician
(Young, Davis, & Schoen, 1996). A lot of parents seek information with family and
friends and they get bad advice and that can cause differential effect. The results of the
study showed that one third of the mothers (35.6%) reported they spanked one or more
times in the past 6 months, this study location was conducted in a low spanking region
(Straus & Mourradian, 1998).
Spankers and nonspankers had very valuable information regarding the
importance that parents need to be well educated regarding discipline of their children.
Children can have long-term negative effects if there have a history of abuse. Usually
children that have been abused are more likely to abuse their children when they become
parents. The article concluded that increasing our understanding of what information of
sources, which can help parents understand positive approaches to discipline.