Poison gets candy-coated to make it easier to swallow: Common euphemisms for certain acts of corporal punishment have been created through out history to disguise their violent or inhumane nature, and to make them appear harmless. The most common examples include:

• Spanking (i.e.: hitting)
• Smacking (i.e.: hitting)
• Bathroom Privilege (i.e.: rationing, restricting or denying toilet use)

Regardless of caretaker intent, inflicting physical pain upon a child for the purposes of punishment or containment is assaultive, inhumane and degrading to the child.

Consequences of society’s tolerance of violence against children:
As a society, we reap what we sow: Violence begets more violence, as well as a host of other problems. Thirty years of research has consistently found that corporal punishment in all forms increases the risk for anger and aggressiveness in children. Corporal punishment also has been found to increase the risk for the following physical, psychological, sexual and social problems:

• Physical injury
• Escalation to legally defined physical abuse
• Sexual abuse
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
• Depressive Disorder
• Poor self esteem
• Suicidal Ideation
• Juvenile aggression and violence
• Sibling violence
• Domestic violence in adulthood towards own partner and children
• Sadomasochistic paraphilias (fetishes)

(Gershoff, 2002; Straus,1994; Straus, Sugarman and Giles-Sims 1997; Hyman, 1997; Gordon, 1989; Newberger, 1999; Kindlon and Thompson, 1999; Kipnis, 1999; Slaby et al., 1995; Greven, 1991; Miller, 1990; Bartollas, 1997; Bavolek, 1994; Black and Puckett, 1996; Englander, 1997; Fathman,1999; Graziano,1994; Zacks, 1997; Dale, 1993; PTAVE, 1999).

Little attention is given to the sexual implications of corporal punishment: Acts between consenting adults involving spanking or paddling are viewed as sexual and sadomasochistic. Yet adults who hit the buttocks of a child often lack awareness that the sciatic nerve that runs from the buttocks to the genitals can easily cause a child to become sexually aroused. Sadomasochistic fetishes may develop when children are repeatedly conditioned to associate sexual arousal with the intensity of a painful act of corporal punishment. When the buttocks or the genitals become the target of corporal punishment, the child is violated sexually as well as physically and psychologically.

What society must do in order to protect its most vulnerable citizens:

Parents can:
• Make a conscious decision to stop or never start using spanking, smacking, hitting and using all other forms of corporal punishment
• Refrain from yelling, screaming, nagging or threatening their children
• Practice positive, consistent discipline that is non-punitive
• Learn and devise creative alternatives to punishment
• Develop a mutually respectful relationship with their children
• Keep the lines of communication open by communicating non-judgmentally with children
• Speak up and offer assistance to friends and neighbors who use corporal punishment
• Protect their children from teachers who ration, restrict or deny toilet use, or use other forms of corporal punishment by speaking up and demanding that it stop immediately
• Speak up about punitive teachers and practices to principals, school PTA and school board meetings
• Take legal action to protect their children from corporal punishment if negotiations fail
• Seek alternative education options if the school or classroom environment remains punitive (home school, child-centered private school, charter school)
• Set a positive example of positive, non-violent parenting in the community

Teachers and School Authorities can:
• Make a conscious decision to stop using all forms of corporal punishment, including restricting, rationing or denying children’s use of the toilet
• Develop a classroom and school environment that is respectful of children’s physical, psychological, social, developmental and learning needs
• Advocate politically on behalf of children for more positive, developmentally appropriate approaches to school discipline and education
• Develop a discipline plan that is positive and based on a system of logical consequences and restitution, not punishment
• Communicate respectfully with individual children who have discipline issues to develop a plan that takes into consideration the need behind the child’s misbehavior
• Speak out on behalf of a child if aware that parents are using corporal punishment
• Report all suspected child maltreatment to authorities- do not make excuses to yourself justifying why you should not report
• Offer mandatory child development courses in high school

Child Advocates and Citizens Can:
• Speak up and intervene in a non-threatening manner if you witness an adult using corporal punishment (CP) in public
• If you judge that it is not safe for you to intervene when witnessing an act of CP in public, call over a police officer or security guard if in a store
• Write letters to your local newspaper about the detrimental affects of CP
• Contact state and local politicians and inform them of the dangers of CP, then ask what they can do to protect children
• Be bold and try to change laws: learn how to write a bill, lobby for changes in child protection laws, and gain supporters for an anti-CP statute
• Vote for politicians who are likely to make children’s rights a priority. Declare certain neighborhoods or towns "CP-free zones"

Politicians Can:
• Make children’s rights a high priority
• Sponsor legislation and bills that would fully protect children from legal assaults
• Work to draft a law that would make corporal punishment illegal
• Draft and sponsor a public education campaign on the dangers of CP
• Influence a campaign to help the public understand that a legal ban on CP would not criminalize parents, but would encourage parents to seek out educational support so that positive alternatives are learned
• Make it mandatory that every high school-aged child must take a child development and positive parenting course as a graduation requirement

References

Back To Top