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 regardingdiscipline 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.