Should Spanking Be allowed

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Gabrielle Gove

PE 140. 01

Ms. James

February 18, 2007

                                               Concept Paper # 1

        One of the most talked about and observed, discipline methods is the punishment of spanking. To some people, spanking defines as “slapping a child on the buttocks”, while others define spanking as a term for any punishment that does not cause any form of injury. An example of this would be exhibiting bad manners at the dinner table. The purpose of this essay is to explain the general concept of spanking, to examine its effectiveness and ineffectiveness, to suggest other forms of discipline, and to explain my view on the issue. Is spanking a child an effective issue or are their other issues to think about?

        There are parents who believe it is okay to spank their children and there are parents who believe that children should not be spanked whatsoever. Right in the middle are parents who believe that spanking should only be used in particular instances, an example of this would be when a child steals something. “Many adults would argue that hitting people is wrong, spanking children continues to be used as an acceptable form of discipline because many parents think spanking will teach children not to do things that are being irritating, and encourage them to do what they should.” (Ramsburg, 1997, pg.

                                                                                                                                  Gove 2

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1) Some parents also believe that nonphysical punishments like “time-out” do not work effectively. Spanking is also practiced more in some countries and cultures then others.

“While spanking may relieve a parents frustration and stop misbehavior briefly, researchers suggest that spanking may be the least effective discipline method. To test this hypothesis, researchers surveyed parents, with the assumption that if spanking worked, children who were spanked would learn to behave better over time so that they would need punishing less frequently”. (Ramsburg, 1997, pg. 1) Julie Lawrence-Edsell, a mother of two has mixed feelings about the practice of spanking “I ...

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