Writing Assignment #4
Jenna Willis
Argumentative Paper
English 101
4 December 2012 “Corporal punishment remains a widely used discipline technique in most American families, but it has also been a subject of controversy within the child development and psychological communities.” (Gershoff) Corporal punishment is not only spanking your child but it is the effects that hitting your child can have. Studies have shown multiple outcomes of corporal punishment, some which have not resulted to be positive. There is so much behind disciplining a child stemming from emotions, force, and frequency. A child should not be disciplined to the severity where it will in turn affect them for the rest of their lives. Corporal punishment is severely damaging physically, mentally, emotionally, and socially to children and should not be allowed in any home. Some will argue that corporal punishment is okay because it teaches your child right from wrong. An interview done a parent stated that they used the action of spanking their children and they believe that is taught them right from wrong. The parents explained that when they would lie, they would get spanked so the next time they thought about lying they would remember of the hurt from the spanking. I then interviewed the children of this family who are now a 12 year old girl and a 16 year old boy. They both stated that they knew right from wrong even when they did the wrong action and would still get consequences for it. The daughter told me a story of her not making her bed one morning. She explained that it is a big deal in their household and the children always are to clean their rooms and make their beds. However, they never had consequences from the action not being done until one day when the dad came home to find her bed unmade, she was beaten pretty severely. This happened 3 years ago and she stated that she remember it as though it happened yesterday. They both then went on to share that their parents expected them to live perfect
Argumentative Paper
English 101
4 December 2012 “Corporal punishment remains a widely used discipline technique in most American families, but it has also been a subject of controversy within the child development and psychological communities.” (Gershoff) Corporal punishment is not only spanking your child but it is the effects that hitting your child can have. Studies have shown multiple outcomes of corporal punishment, some which have not resulted to be positive. There is so much behind disciplining a child stemming from emotions, force, and frequency. A child should not be disciplined to the severity where it will in turn affect them for the rest of their lives. Corporal punishment is severely damaging physically, mentally, emotionally, and socially to children and should not be allowed in any home. Some will argue that corporal punishment is okay because it teaches your child right from wrong. An interview done a parent stated that they used the action of spanking their children and they believe that is taught them right from wrong. The parents explained that when they would lie, they would get spanked so the next time they thought about lying they would remember of the hurt from the spanking. I then interviewed the children of this family who are now a 12 year old girl and a 16 year old boy. They both stated that they knew right from wrong even when they did the wrong action and would still get consequences for it. The daughter told me a story of her not making her bed one morning. She explained that it is a big deal in their household and the children always are to clean their rooms and make their beds. However, they never had consequences from the action not being done until one day when the dad came home to find her bed unmade, she was beaten pretty severely. This happened 3 years ago and she stated that she remember it as though it happened yesterday. They both then went on to share that their parents expected them to live perfect
Cited: Gershoff, Elizabeth and Robert Larzelere. "Is Corporal Punishment an Effective Means of Discipline?" Is Corporal Punishment an Effective Means of Discipline? American Psychological Association. Web. 11 Nov. 2012. Holzer, Prue and Lamont. "Corporal Punishment: Key Issues." Copyright 2010 Australian Institute of Family Studies. 24 October 2012. Web. 11 November 2012. Jones Family. “Is Corporal Punishment Okay?” Personal Interview. 12 November 2012. Lewis, Shane-Henderson Police. “Is Corporal Punishment Okay?” Personal Interview. 1 November 2012. "Result Filters." National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine. Web. 11 Nov. 2012. Smith, Jessica. “Is Corporal Punishment Okay?” Personal Interview. 3 November 2012.