Argumentative /Persuasive Essay

Corporal punishment has often been utilized as a form of instilling discipline into children by parents for a long time. The articles “are corporal punishment abuse?” By gene demby and “hitting children not the right way to discipline” by James Tatum addresses this issue comprehensively by looking at the arguments involved either in support or against it. The debate on whether to spank children or not is a subject that has different perceptions or views from different people. Corporal punishment is not an acceptable form of discipline due to the detrimental effects that it may have on children.

Opponents of corporal punishment argue that it is wrong to disciplining children using corporal punishment as it is a form of child abuse. From the essay “is corporal punishment abuse?” Adrian Peterson who is among the NFL’s biggest stars is depicted as the face of corporal punishment in the United States. After he “allegedly hit his son with a switch that left welts on his body” (Demby 1). Such brutal and harmful assault on children by their parents has been for a long time been vindicated as suitable disciplinary measures. Similar to adrian peterson, most parents have in the past used weapons like sticks to cause physical pain in children, without considering the fact that their body parts such as the head and face are vulnerable. The injustice that children are exposed to as a result of the lack of consensus regarding to the acceptable punishment towards ought children is a serious matter.

Proponents of corporal punishment feel that the world would be better in case all children were whipped for misbehaving. From the article “is corporal punishment abuse?” By gene demby, one of the respondents asserts that “i got beatings, and i turned out fine. The world would be better off if more people got whippings as children.” This is an indication that corporal punishment is imperative in bringing up disciplined children. Nonetheless, from prof. Joan durrant’s report, a clinical psychologist at the university of manitoba, the findings “admonishes the use of corporal punishment, says that it can be effective in the short-term. In the long-term however, it has shown to harm a child’s mental development. It is more likely to teach them violence is an appropriate response to conflict” (tatum 1).

Corporal punishment is relatively inappropriate in the contemporary society and it is not good for a parent to hit his or her children given that there are many other diverse methods that he/she can utilize (gottman et al. 14). According to carter "people believe in disciplining their children. ... It's the 21st century. My mom was wrong. She did the best she could, but she was wrong about some of that stuff she taught me. And i promised my kids i won't teach that mess to them. You can't beat a kid to make them do what they wanna do" (demby 1). Corporal punishment really upsets children as well as hurts them which results in the relationship between them and their parents to be destroyed. Characteristically, most conservative parents perceive corporal punishment as the best form of punishment when it comes to instilling discipline in children. The perception of parents on spanking may be explained in terms of their belief system as well as how they were brought up themselves.

Corporal punishment is not an acceptable form of punishment given the negative effects that it has on children. Corporal punishment should be banned and both parents and teachers trained on better and effective forms of instilling discipline into children. This is because it is an out-of-date form of punishing children and therefore, the society should embrace the protection of children and report any instance of smacking of children to the authorities. Therefore, corporal punishment as a form of instilling discipline into children is an issue of great concern in the modern society. This is because it violates the rights of children by enhancing violence towards them by parents and teachers. Most children are abused daily in the u.s. By means of corporal punishment in the name of instilling discipline into them. According to demby, “very few people who use corporal punishment tend to think of themselves as "child abusers," which underscores just why it's so hard to talk about child abuse. Nevertheless, there are people who do not consider corporal punishment as an abuse.”

In conclusion, corporal punishment is not an acceptable form of discipline due to the detrimental effects that it may have on children. Most children do not need to be spanked by their parents as they are very defiant to an extent that no matter how regularly they receive corporal punishment, they will become even increasingly defiant. These children should be taken for counseling, which might prove more useful to them. There are other alternative forms of putting children in check that are more effective than corporal punishment, which may help them in realizing what is good as well as that which is bad. Parents should be encouraged to embrace the alternative disciplinary measures that will enhance the productivity of their children.