Custom essays on Physical Punishment – Pro et Contra

In the contemporary society physical punishment became an object of controversy. Since ancient times parents and teachers used physical punishment to punish children. In the contemporary society attitude to physical punishment has changed. At the present moment it is regarded as abuse and limitation of the rights of children. Despite the change in the attitudes to physical punishment the question about it is still doubtful because some specialists and parents believe that this practice is acceptable and even necessary for the educational process. Despite there are a lot of arguments pro et contra psychical punishment should not be regarded as acceptable social practice because it brings mental and moral damage to children and violates human rights.
There are different approaches of physical punishment. It is important to evaluate both positions in order to study arguments presented by both sides. Some specialists count on the experience of previous generations and state that physical punishment is effective educational measure. Some researches state that corporal punishment may be acceptable kind of punishment for children of 2-6 years as long as this kind of punishment is used to cause pain but not injury. This approach is explained by the fact that mental reactions of children of this age are not very strong. They react on the things rather subconsciously and perceive world on the physical level. They do not understand words or understand them worse than touches. This way corporal punishment may become an effective way to pass them information. Children under 6 years old are mostly guided by their reflexes. Proponents of the physical punishment use the term “conditional spanking” to show the use of this kind of punishment.

They state that spanking if used right after the wrong behaviour may develop necessary reflexes and children will easier apply necessary behavioural patterns. This method may be applied only on early stages of children’s development when their mental abilities are not strong enough to perceive words and explanations. In addition some specialists note additional advantages of physical punishment. It is often immediate and children may feel the direct results of their actions and behaviour. This kind of punishment one of the most effective kinds and it may be very useful in the cases when children do not understand other impacts. To certain extend physical punishment may prepare children to hard life in the violent world. Parents will not be always able to protect their children from all aggression and violence which exists in the world and corporal punishment may become a kind of training which will make children more ready to oppose violence and abuse.
Proponents of physical punishment give their reasons which prove that partially physical punishment may be a useful tool of upbringing. They state that physical punishment may become an effective tool of socialization. In response to surveys which prove that physical punishment in the childhood may become the reason of future aggressive behaviour proponents of this kind of punishment cite data which proves that not all children who experienced physical punishment became aggressive and violent in their future life (Spatz Widom, 1989). Big percentage of normal and even successful people were physically punished in their childhood. In addition data presented by different specialists may be controversial. Latest researches show that big percentage of the American parents use physical punishment in the process of upbringing. “Further, recent survey data has suggested that almost all American parents utilize physical punishment at one point or another (see Prevalence data reviewed below). This suggests that despite the psychological controversy over the topic, many, if not most, Americans regard physical punishment as an appropriate childrearing technique, at least under certain circumstances” (Kandel, 6). This data proves that despite different psychological interpretations most contemporary parents regard physical punishment as normal practice.