Corporal punishment, or in layman terms, using physical violence as a means for punishment, is still debated in our region of the world. You cannot imagine how many times I have heard statements similar to "I was beaten by my parents, and look at me now", as a supportive statement for the use of physical punishment. I will not address such a statement, but I will try to explain briefly the lessons a child learns from corporal punishment.
- Corporal punishment will teach a child fear. Fear may result in immediate change in behavior, but fear will not be a motivator nor a lesson in why such a change should be made.
- Corporal punishment will NOT lead to cognitive awareness and acceptance of behavior change.
- Corporal punishment can lead to lower self-esteem and feelings of helplessness.
- Corporal punishment is the antithesis of respect. Your child may fear you, but s/he will not respect you.
- Corporal punishment teaches your child that it is O.K. to lose your temper and hit someone. A lesson, many parents often regret when the school year begins.
- Corporal punishment may teach a child that a behavior was unacceptable, but doesn't give the child alternative ways of action(positive behavior).
- Corporal punishment will teach the child that s/he is able to trigger a reaction from you. They will soon learn that they are more in control than you are.
- Corporal punishment is a form of child abuse, and is punishable in most countries who have established infrastructure and child protection laws.
This is a brief look at some of the most common results to the use of corporal punishment. There is more to say, but I leave it to you dear readers to draw your own conclusions and make up your own minds. The image below (which I have used in a previous post) represents the title of today's post:
