Thesis; Corporal Punishment

Corporal Punishment
Krichell Blair
Submitted under the supervision of Professor Bateh to the College Honors Program at
Berkeley College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of
Science, cum laude in Accounting.
August 1st, 2016

CORPORAL PUNISHMENT 2
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Abstract ......................................................................................................................... iii
Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1
Definition of Corporal Punishment ............................................................................... 2
Type of Corporal Punishment to be Discussed ............................................................. 2
Negative Social Psychological Long Term Effects of Corporal Punishment ............... 3
Link between Low Self-Esteem and Corporal Punishment .................................. 3
Link between Clinical Depression and Corporal Punishment ............................... 5
Children vs. Corporal Punishment ........................................................................ 6
Erosion of Respect for Authority .......................................................................... 8
Unwillingness to Learn .......................................................................................... 9
What Corporal Punishment Teaches Children .............................................................. 10
Violence is the Answer .......................................................................................... 10
Violence is Normal ................................................................................................ 14
Into the Mind of a Parent .............................................................................................. 13
The Explanation ..................................................................................................... 13
The Hamster Wheel ............................................................................................... 14
The Community Bench .......................................................................................... 17
The Police Car ....................................................................................................... 17

TABLE OF CONTENTS (Cont’d)
Analysis of Corporal Punishment in Society ................................................................ 19
Conclusion .................................................................................................................... 22

Abstract
This paper focuses on key factors supporting and opposing corporal punishment.
Children subjected to corporal punishment suffer from lowered self-esteem, clinical
depression, and suicide ideation all so that parents can instill fear and artificial control.
Aside from the negative psychological effects, the use of corporal punishment has
negative implications as it teaches children that it is acceptable and sometimes necessary
to solve their problems using violence. With that being said, school administrators,
teachers, and parents instill high levels of moral capacities onto children only for them to
grow up into a world that applies force and violence at every nonconforming moment.
Corporal punishment is still wrong, but the hypocrisy in American culture on the issue
drives a wedge in the progress of eliminating this ideology. This paper seeks to highlight
negative social/psychological long term effects of corporal punishment and what we can
do to wean out this way of disciplining children.
Keywords: corporal punishment, society, police influence

Introduction
Barbarism is the reason behind corporal punishment towards children today
(DeMause, 2010). Barbarism has been a part of human identity since Neolithic times.
Compared to other animals’ sharp claws, strong teeth, and fur (to protect them during the
winter), humans couldn’t stand a chance. But, in modern times, it is humans who are able
to dominate the animal kingdom and control the rest of the animals. In order for that to
happen, we had to use sheer force, barbarism, and underhanded tactics. These actions
have followed us and have been permanently ingrained in us (DeMause, 2010). The laws
of evolution and Social Darwinism produced humans who use violence to get where they
need to be. Violence has been a part of our culture for so long and is so deeply ingrained
in our psyche as humans that we use violence against our own children.
Fast forward to the 21st century and we have tried to shun our barbaric ways and
condemn violence in search of solving problems through negotiations and peace.
However, our past is too hard to shake as the controversial topic of corporal punishment
still has strong supporters. Humans of the past did everything through force: They taught
and fought by force. This is something that is rooted in every culture. African, European,
Asian, Native American, and Australian history are all synonymous in its account of the
violence of human nature.
It is hard for us to shake the monkey off our backs because some argue that the
monkey is the reason we were able to stay on our own two feet. Violence is so ingrained
in our DNA that hitting our children is deemed the responsible thing to do for some
people. But 21st century studies and technology is starting to shed a more scientific light
on the matter. Violence against children, deemed corporal punishment, is not as

productive as we have brainwashed ourselves to believe. Children subjected to corporal
punishment suffer from lowered self-esteem, clinical depression, and suicide ideation all
so that parents can instill fear and artificial control. Aside from the negative
psychological effects, the use of corporal punishment has negative implications as it
teaches children that it is acceptable and sometimes necessary to solve their problems
using violence. With that being said, school administrators, teachers, and parents instill
high levels of morale and integrity onto children only for them to grow up into a world
that contradicts what they were taught in school.
Definition of Corporal Punishment
Corporal punishment can be defined as any kind of physical punishment, whether
it be caning or flogging, with the intent of causing physical injury or pain. Corporal
punishment is used in the military to coerce spies or other opponents to talk. It is also
used in many prison systems around the world (especially in the United States) as a
means of keeping the prisoners restrained. Surprisingly, some schools still exercise their
right to use corporal punishment on young children. Lastly, parents have the right to use
corporal punishment on their children in the United States.
Type of Corporal Punishment to be Discussed
Corporal punishment can be implemented against anyone but the type of corporal
punished being discussed will be in regards to children (during any circumstance). The
term corporal punishment has many different classifications. Any and all punishment
ranging from a light slap to a hard punch is included in the definition being discussed.
There will be further analyzation of the differences in effect between a “light tap” and a
“beating”. But, in essence, the term corporal punishment is defined as any physical blow

whether it be for disciplinary purposes or to cause serious bodily harm. The reason
corporal punishment is being defined as such is because whether a child gets slapped in
the face so hard that he/she cannot breathe or whether he/she receives a light tap, the
child will still have feelings of shame and embarrassment either way. In the long run,
some children might forget just how much pain was caused but the feelings of shame will
remain. This is why it is important to include any and all forms of violence against
children.
Negative Long-Term Social and Psychological Effects of Corporal Punishment
Link between Low Self-Esteem and Corporal Punishment
The use of corporal punishment causes children to experience lowered self-
esteem. A child with lowered self-esteem is disadvantaged compared to children with
higher self-esteem. The difference between the two esteemed children can be as simple as
one being more participatory in the classroom or being more confident in submitting and
doing homework. A child with lowered self-esteem is comparable to a drug user using a
gateway drug in that having a child with the said characteristic can snowball into the
child having other, more major, problems. Low self-esteem is the gateway to antisocial
behavior, limited speech, and possibly clinical depression. No scientist and/or
psychologist can disapprove of the link between low self-esteem and children who are
spanked. Which then raises the question; Why are children still spanked if their parents
are aware of the possible negative outcomes? Spanking a child is the gateway to a list of
negative emotional outcomes on the child's behalf.
Many parents use the counterargument that a child's lowered self-esteem is only
temporary. The belief being that once the child becomes a certain age, he/she will realize

the reasoning behind their parents' efforts to discipline him/her and will 'forgive' the
uncomfortable portions of the disciplinary stages. This ideology has been the tradition
that has been passed down through various cultures from generation to generation, but
human beings cannot evolve until we change as a group.
The fact of the matter is, "when subjected to physical beating [many people] will
often bury the memory and downplay its effect. But the pain never disappears... and so
the childhood scenes are reenacted in adulthood where the individual[s] can identify with
their childhood aggressor in situations where they are confronted with children or the
weak" (Pantagraph, 1992). In essence, adults often downplay the effects of their
experiences when they were younger. So, when adult supporters of corporal punishment
say that they were 'spanked as a child and still grew up to be a productive member of
society', they are victims of denial.
Adults who were spanked as children carry around the pain of being spanked into
adulthood, in which case the pain manifests itself in different ways. Thus, the act of
spanking a child will accomplish a short term victory of compliance, but that compliance
comes at the cost of the child's self-esteem. Taking into account that every child is
different, parents run the increased risk that their child will internalize this feeling of
worthlessness which will live on with them well into their adult life. This internalized
feeling of worthlessness is oftentimes referred to as clinical depression.
Link between Clinical Depression and Corporal Punishment
Children subjected to corporal punishment have been linked to higher rates of
clinical depression. A 10-year study conducted by M.A. Straus and G.K. Kantor sheds
light on the major connections between corporal punishment and negative mental health

(1994). Straus and Kantor gathered a group of adults and asked them about their personal
lives (1994). Questions ranged from how often test subjects drank alcoholic substances to
how often they had suicide ideation (Straus & Kantor, 1994). Test subjects were also
asked to recollect their teenage years to place the amount of times they were spanked as
teenagers into different frequency categories (Straus & Kantor, 1994).
The scientists found an eye-opening link between adults who were spanked more
(when the test subjects were children) and mental illnesses (Straus & Kantor, 1994). For
example, Straus and Kantor found that test subjects who were subjected to higher
amounts of corporal punishment as teenagers had higher than median spousal abuse rates,
suicide ideations, and depressive rates (1994). Meaning, adults who were spanked as
children grew to have a higher percentage of emotional instability. Unsurprisingly, as the
frequency of corporal punishment that adults underwent as teenagers increased, so did
their levels of emotionally instability. Straus and Kantor’s study suggests that spanking
children has a direct correlation with their mental health during the course of their lives
(1994).
The purpose of studies like the one being discussed is to measure and analyze
risk. The study concludes that there is a definite risk associated with corporal punishment
and depression by outright claiming that teenagers who undergo corporal punishment are
more likely to try to kill themselves along with a slew of other mental illnesses. These
mental illnesses are, in a sense, a physical manifestation of the pain and feelings of
worthlessness that the test subjects internalized as teenagers. To be clear, no one child is
the same so observations and studies done on children (and adults) who have been
spanked are not to speak a doomsday onto them, but only to highlight possible causes for

future problems that these same children will have as they grow. Albeit the fact that some
children may grow into adulthood with minimal emotional instability, the alarming
effects of corporal punishment still need to be addressed for the simple fact that it puts
children at an increased risk for mental illnesses.
The fact that scientists have yet to debunk all of the mysteries of the brain means
that much of what there is to know about mental illnesses is still unknown. With this in
mind, one would think that parents would tread lightly when it comes to engaging in any
behavior that could possibly affect their child's mental health in a negative way.
Especially when we know so little about how to cure and treat mental illnesses. The fact
that we have yet to find a cure for depression is reason enough for us to be careful not to
cause even more emotional depression in our own lives (and the lives around us) as best
as we can. Yet, parents risk the emotional stability of their children every day by
spanking them.
Children vs. Corporal Punishment
Children themselves can attest to the pain they feel when they are spanked by
their parents. In general, children are said to have a lower capacity to communicate
compared to older teenagers and adults because of their limited use of language. Their
inability to articulate their feelings places them at a disadvantage because many people
like to sweep the emotions of children under the rug.
Susan Redman, psychologist, interviewed parents regarding their views on
corporal punishment and found that many believed that kids just “accept it” (Redman,
2010). Redman argues that, “if young children do just accept punishment and don’t
always articulate their feelings about their experience of smacking, then adults may

interpret this as somehow less significant than the experience of an older child or adult”
(Redman, 2010, p. 223). Just because children are not able to completely articulate their
feelings of shame and humiliation does not mean that they ‘just accept’ being slapped
around.
Redman’s observations highlight the connection between language and
recognition of emotion. Her insight into this connection further validates the popular
saying ‘communication is key.’ But, in the case of a child, communication is limited,
leaving some parents believing that a child’s emotions are also limited. In reality,
children are emotionally sensitive and parents must take heed to the pain that they subject
their children to because the experiences and emotions that children internalize when they
are young never go away.
To further clarify the pain that children feel, the book “It Hurts You Inside” by C.
Willow and T. Hyder, seeks to get an inside look at what children think of being spanked.
One seven-year-old boy said, “‘Sometimes if you smack, if it was an adult like my daddy,
he can smack very hard … he can smack you like a stone … and you’ll cry’” (Willow &
Hyder, 1998, p. 13). One insightful child is quoted saying, “‘[my parents] might
remember being smacked but not really remember how it feels because it seems so long
ago. And as they got older when they thought about it they forgot how it feels’” (Willow
& Hyder, 1998, p. 18). Children might not be the best at communicating but in order for
adults to be better parents they have to become better at listening.
Oftentimes, many parents do not research safer, more productive ways to
discipline their children. They often stick to what they know - barbarism. During
Redman’s investigation, she found that parents used words like “whack” and “biff” to

describe their experiences being spanked as children but use words such as “lightly tap”
to describe how they spank their own children (Redman, 2010). The words that the
parents used to describe their own experiences growing up differ vastly from the “light
taps” they used on their own children.
It seems parents are disconnected to how much pain they cause their children.
This dichotomy in diction between how parents think they were spanked versus how they
think they spank their children lines up smoothly with what the seven-year-old girl had to
say on the matter of corporal punishment: Parents forget the emotions they felt getting
spanked as a child. Small children might not be able to write a twenty-five-page thesis on
why they do not like being spanked, but they do have the same emotions as any other
human being. They end up internalizing their feelings of embarrassment because they
cannot think of words passionate enough to match the intensity of their emotions.
Erosion of Respect for Authority
Children subjected to corporal punishment begin to lose respect for authority.
Oftentimes, after a child is spanked, they wonder whether or not they are liked by the
adult that spanked them. The confusion around whether not the adult likes them soon
mixes and festers with their feelings of embarrassment and shame. After some time, these
emotions flare up in the form of disrespect.
S. Han conducted a study on the effects of corporal punishment policies in rural
schools. During her study, Han gathered survey data. She asked the principals located in
each selected rural area whether or not they allowed physical punishment. She gathered
statistics regarding violent school incidents caused by students, total number of
disciplinary actions for student insubordination, student problem behaviors, parental

involvement and more to test “the effect of corporal punishment on student outcome”
(Han, 2014, p. 222).
“One conclusion that can be drawn from the findings is that schools with a
corporal punishment policy are more likely to have students who disobey school
personnel, violate school rules, and/or act against school authority/teachers. This
association is well supported by the literature. A corporal punishment policy stimulates
student anger, disrespect, and violence toward school staff” (Han, 2014, p. 229). The
study indicates that there is a higher probability of erosion of respect for authority once
corporal punishment is instilled in schools.
It is much easier for a child to respect an adult if the specified adult respects the
child in return. Therefore, when teachers, administrators, and parents spank children, the
children perceive the act as a lack of respect towards them (the child). As children grow
into adolescence, it is very likely that they will not hold a high regard for adults who do
not respect their physical health.
Unwillingness to Learn
Spanking children creates a hostile learning environment. Whether a child is in
the classroom, or at home, they will lose interest in whatever it is that the adult is trying
to teach them. Oftentimes, when given the opportunity, children will never return to the
locations where they were spanked and traumatized. This is why many teenagers go off
to college in different states from where their parents live and act radically different from
how they acted around the presence of their friends and family.
Creating a hostile environment for children (by spanking them) makes them shut
down. “…Corporal punishment negatively affects students’ academic aspirations… A

hostile learning environment that includes corporal punishment practices may lead to
students being fearful of physical punishment. This situation discourages students from
becoming involved in school work, and they may lose interest in future learning” (Han,
2014, p. 229). This unwillingness to learn is not what we should be advocating for our
children. Especially when some children may possibly suffer from undiagnosed learning
disorders.
What Corporal Punishment Teaches Children
Violence is the Answer
Corporal punishment teaches children that violence is a viable way to change the
behaviors of people around them. “According to social learning theory, violence toward
others is learned behavior” (Swinford, DeMaris, Cernkovich, & Giordano, 2000). This
means that a child that does not grow up with violence is less likely to use violence in
his/her adult life. Hitting children for their transgressions can translate into said children
hitting their own children and other family members for their transgressions.
“Children… treated [with corporal punishment] learn that physical aggression is
permissible within the context of intimate relationships and that violence is justified when
someone is guilty of wrongdoing… Because it typically modifies children's
own behavior, such a practice also demonstrates the effectiveness of aggression as
a behavior-modification strategy” (Swinford, DeMaris, Cernkovich, & Giordano, 2000).
This observation can justify why a man beats his significant other or vice versa. When he
was spanked as a child, he changed his behavior, so, he employs this same way of
thinking onto his future intimate relationships (whether it be between the women/men in

his life or with his child(ren)) assuming that the people in his life will also change their
behavior if they are subjected to violence.
The purpose of using violence in general is because the abuser wants a desired
effect/ response from the abused. For example, an Iraqi soldier flogs an American soldier
countless times in order for the American soldier to disclose where his station is located.
Or a teacher spanks a student who is talking over her in class because she would like him
to pay attention to her. Or a father spanks his daughter for being rude to her mother.
In all three examples, people from different walks of life employ corporal
punishment in order to achieve their personal agenda. The Iraqi soldier wants to bomb the
American base, the teacher wants the student to only listen to her, and the father wants
his daughter to be respectful to her mother. In many of these cases, the corporal
punishment method seemingly works. The Iraqi soldier gets the information from the
soldier, the student in the classroom does not say another word during class time, and the
daughter does not disrespect her mother again for the day.
But notice that corporal punishment tricks people into believing that they
achieved their goal. The long term effects of flogging every American soldier in sight
will not end up well for the Iraqi soldier, and neither will spanking a child for being
disrespectful. The Iraqi soldier will end up dead, and the teacher and father will end up
losing respect from the children, making it even harder to discipline them down the line.
The moral of the story is solving problems with violence ends up being
counterproductive because later on, the roles will switch and the abuser will become the
abused (and vice versa).

Corporal punishment teaches children to communicate with their hands and not
their mouths. “Evans and Davies (1997) contended that Caribbean parents lacked the
propensity to have extended conversations or to reason with their children. Evans and
Davies noted that parents often complained about their children talking too much or
asking too many questions, ideas reinforced by the cultural belief that "children should be
seen and not heard” (Evans & Davies 1997; Smith and Mosby 2003). Instead of
highlighting the importance of communication and listening, corporal punishment
establishes an understanding of authoritarian intimate relationships. The most important
factor of any healthy relationship is communication, yet parents hypocritically teach their
children the opposite by employing a relationship that teaches children to talk with their
hands and not their mouths.
Fear and artificial control are established in an authoritarian relationship and
nothing good comes from those two things. Parents are so fixed on establishing and
maintaining control that they lose sight of their purpose, which is to raise up healthy,
functioning members of society. Many adults today struggle with alcohol abuse, suicide
ideation, and learning disabilities because of their psychological response to being
subjected to violence when they were young and weak. A healthy member of society
should not be struggling with abuse or addiction problems.
Parents that subject their children to corporal punishment play a risky gambling
game because of the negative long term outcomes that they potentially impose on their
children. Corporal punishment may seem to be the short-term quick fix answer, but
parents need to analyze the long term implications that this form of abuse has.

Violence is Normal
Growing up under corporal punishment teaches children that violence is a part of
everyday life. Women who grow up being spanked are more susceptible to domestic
violence cases because of their thwarted psychological health. Saunders and Goddard
(2010) argues that, “children must be recognized as individuals with human rights as well
as special needs for protection.” Violence towards children diminishes a child’s feeling of
self-worth and makes them feel unprotected (vulnerable). A child cannot grow up healthy
and feeling protected if his/her physical health is being placed in jeopardy often.
Violence in the home is not normal, and we should not teach children that. Kaleb
“KJ” Hill of New Orleans, 29, remembers being targeted by a particular teacher in high
school only to be diagnosed with dyslexia as an adult (Anderson, 2015). Unfortunately,
he was spanked as a child for having a learning disability which is not something that he
can control (Anderson, 2015). Having a learning disability warranted him to be spanked
more often than his peers when he had no control over the amount of drugs his mother
may or may not have used while she was pregnant with him (Anderson, 2015). KJ grew
up believing that he deserved to be spanked and that spanking was normal when all he
needed was someone to be patient with him.
Growing up in violence increases a person’s chances of recreating that violence in
their adult life. Boys who grow up seeing their fathers spank his daughters have a higher
propensity of doing the same to their own daughters. Girls who grew up being spanked
by their fathers subconsciously develop rationalizations for why it might be acceptable
for a male to put his hands on a female. Normalizing a violent home life perpetuates a
dangerous system. If parents do not want their sons and daughters living in dangerous

and potentially life-threating situations, they should not put forward anything involving
violence in front of their children.
Into the Mind of a Parent
The Explanation
If we were all to pretend to be small substances and we entered into the mind of a
parent, we would see a lot of loose electric wires and dripping water from a few burst
pipes, but mainly there would be three main objects; a hamster wheel, a community
bench, and a police car. These three things represent a few (but not all) influential factors
that dictate how parents decide to discipline their children. The hamster wheel represents
the journey that a parent undergoes to discipline their child using corporal punishment.
The community bench represents the pressures a parent faces from the community when
it comes to keeping their child out of trouble on the streets. Lastly, the police car
represents the influences that the law enforcement plays on how a parent might raise their
child.
The Hamster Wheel
No parent wants to hit their child. The question becomes why parents spank their
children when a majority of them claim that they would rather not. Studies suggest that as
children, parents might’ve felt rejected by one/both parent(s) in a way that causes
emotional stress (Sherbourne, 2004). “… The basic ingredient of parents who physically
abuse and neglect originates in how they lacked inadequate parenting themselves as
children” (Sherbourne, 2004). Many parents are stuck on the generational hamster wheel
of violence. Their parents spanked them and they internalized their feelings of rejection
only for the same feelings to materialize itself later on into 7 blows to their baby’s

buttocks. Each generation of parents is defeating the new generation by deleteriously
chipping away at an incomplete cognitive mind.
Parents need to see that running on the hamster wheel is weakening their child.
The hamster wheel has become a safe haven for parents. They would rather keep running
and panting on the hamster wheel because they do not know life without it. They justify
all the negative outcomes of corporal punishment by claiming that all the cons will make
the next generation stronger. But, as society continues to grow and learn about the human
mind, a person with tough skin and a weak mind makes for a weak opponent. Corporal
punishment weakens psychological strength.
One of Dr. Phil’s famous lines is “the best predictor of future behavior is past
behavior”. If parents can really open their eyes and just look at the negativity and
violence that was a part of the world at one point, they can slowly start to convince
themselves to get off of the hamster wheel. Many psychologists and sociologists attribute
the high levels of violence in society 60 years ago to the existence of corporal
punishment in schools.
“President John F. Kennedy’s assassination, murders during the civil rights
movement, and thousands of deaths in Vietnam brought a new focus on violence to
America. When Straus, [a researcher, professor, and sociologist] was teaching a course
on the family in 1968, the year the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Senator Robert F.
Kennedy were killed, he learned during a class discussion that almost all of his students
had been spanked. Surprised, he checked with students in other classes and found the
same results…There, he found the practice associated with problems such as an

underdeveloped conscience and aggressive behavior” (Burnett, 2012). In the past,
assassinations, murders, and violence wreaked havoc in American streets.
Murray Strauss, a vocal psychologist and activist against corporal punishment,
has been disproving corporal punishment for decades now with thousands of pages of
experiments and studies to back him up. The best predictor of the future effects of
corporal punishment are the past effects of corporal punishment. The last dangerous
attempt on a president’s life was when Ronald Regan got shot in the lungs in the 1980s. If
parents do not get off of this hamster wheel, they are only setting themselves up for this
same effect. What does an assassinated President who has not yet completed his/her term
say about the people residing in a country?
Since Regan’s presidency, society has started to move away from corporal
punishment. Barack Obama can happily state that violent crimes have decreased by more
than 30% from Regan’s presidency. Minimizing corporal punishment in schools is one of
the reasons for this decrease (Belkin, 2013). At first glance, these statistics might not
seem like it is related to parents, but if parents could significantly decrease corporal
punishment at home, they can play an active role in truly making the world a safer place
for the next generation.
Parenting is not taken lightly by most parents. Being a parent is difficult. Finding
the balance between how much discipline is too much and how much is too little can be
challenging. Especially when the school system, the local community, and local police
mostly blame the faults of children on the parents. Parents have to think about how to
teach their children to act independently and speak correctly around law enforcement.
The stress of these decisions does not lie in what has to be taught, but rather how these

things are taught. If a parent is too overzealous, the neighbors or the school might call
Child Protective Services. If there is not enough enforcement, the school and the
community blames the parent for not being firm enough. Either way, parents receive a
healthy dose of blame all the way around every scenario. Which explains the stress that
parents undergo while running on the hamster wheel. But the sad news about the hamster
wheel is many parents were once children whose parents were also on the hamster wheel.
These current parents had a front row seat to the effects of spanking. Instead of taking
courses on childhood education and learning alternatives to corporal punishment, many
parents find themselves stuck on the same recycled wheel.
Research suggests that people who are a part of certain religions, like
Conservative Protestantism, are more likely to use corporal punishment as a disciplinary
tactic (Grogan-Kaylor & Otis, 2007). And, unlike popular belief, the link between low
socioeconomic status and instances of corporal punishment has been less consistent as
more updated research has surfaced (Grogan-Kaylor & Otis, 2007). Instead, parents
under high stress levels are more likely to spank their children (Grogan-Kaylor & Otis,
2007). With information like this, parents can arm their educational arsenal to prevent
themselves from being mere statistics. People who remain ignorant in an area of study
can be studied, predicted, and calculated down to a statistic because humans have the
same natural tendencies (Fuller, G., Stecker, R., & Wright, J. P. 2000).
The Community Bench
“Police brutality is not a major problem... what is a problem are these unruly
children and their parents who don't have adequate parenting skills” (Griggs, 1995).
Oftentimes, in a community, the more vocal (and elder) neighbors control the climate and

rules of the local community. In this specific community, many elders and shop owners
were complaining about young children who were always loitering in front of their stores,
preventing their more mature customers from coming in. The shop owners do not blame
the county police for insufficient patrolling, nor the schools for not having a tighter
attendance policy. They blame the parents. Parents have a tremendous amount of pressure
to perform well and create a functioning, successful member of society. Some fear failure
so much that they would rather take their chances with corporal punishment, than try a
gentler approach. With the community watching, parents want to look stern and in
control, and certain alternative methods to corporal punishment might allow some
children to think that they can take advantage of their parents.
Mainly, the community bench represents the neighboring parents and
grandparents of one specified family who may or may not be spanking the children in
their life. This neighboring group of adults and elders might be peer pressuring some
adults into spanking. Every parent can attest to the look they receive from other adults in
the store when their child is disrupting others. That look maybe one of peer pressure. It’s
most often saying ‘control your child’.
The Police Car
Many parents fear for their child’s life in the power of a police officer. Some
more than others. There is an overflow of emotion in the country as minority parents
grapple with ways to teach their children how to act correctly when in a police officer’s
presence. Fear of seeing their children perish cause many parents to give their children a
“taste” of what will happen to them in prison or what the police will do to them. “Today,
many black parents fear that a loose tongue or flash of temper could get their child killed

by a trigger-happy cop. They would rather beat their offspring than bury them” (Dyson,
2014). While some parents may not fully agree with corporal punishment, some find it
necessary in order to teach their children about the real world. The police force uses
corporal punishment to refrain adults, so some parents follow suit with their children to
teach their children how life works. Some parents believe that a parent's firm hand is
favorable over a police officer's bullet (Dyson, 2014). Meaning, some parents believe that
the only way to discipline their child is to show them a taste of what they will receive if
they end up on the wrong side of the law. The hypocritical way that American legislation
regards the treatment of prisoners in federal penitentiaries is the reason that many parents
feel the need to hit their kids. For some parents, beating their kids for stealing something
in the house helps teach children not to steal something from a store due to the fact that a
cop might implement punishment at a far more torturous level (which will only get worse
in prison).
No one ever said that being a parent would be easy. Parents have to make tough
decisions every day. They have to choose between their child’s psychological health and
their child’s street sense. Spanking a child teaches them how the law enforcement works,
but damages their psychological health. Teaching both concepts are important, and many
parents find themselves choosing one over the other. But, surely there has to be a way
that parents can still be stern and instill discipline in their children while nurturing their
child’s psychological health.
Adults in the 21st century have access to cell phones, notebooks, laptops,
desktops, iPods, and etc. With so much information at everyone’s fingertips, parents can
easily look up tips for disciplining their children or enroll in classes. So why isn’t it

happening? Why are parents lazily agreeing to end corporal punishment while more than
90% actively spank their child(ren)? Education and awareness was not available when
they first became parents, so some parents have already adapted a parenting style that
works for them and do not plan on changing any time soon. Education would teach
parents that believe in corporal punishment that the “success” that they are seeing with
their current parenting style is short term and will not be fruitful in the end.
Analysis of Corporal Punishment in Society
Children are taught not to hit or bully their fellow classmates or superiors in
school. From a very young age, every school official in a child’s life instilled high morals
and integrity to ensure that they raised innocent, good creatures. Children are taught
concepts like seeing the good in the people and violence is the not the answer. But the
problem lies when these children grow up to discover that the rules they abided by in
school does not apply to the real world all the time.
In a Gold Coast Bulletin article, an uptick in street assaults and domestic violence
led the police department of the area to acquire more deadly weapons to maintain order
(2008). In a society where children are taught that violence is not the answer, the author
of this article (anonymous) hails the police for its call to receive even more guns and
tasers to defend the safety of the police (Gold Coast Bulletin, 2008). Instead of calling for
more after school programs to keep teenagers out of trouble, or informative classes on
domestic violence for men and women in abusive relationships, the town decided to arm
the police with more weapons. How can sociologists and psychologists try to sell parents
on the positive effects of corporal punishment when society is so hypocritical?

There are two competing forces in society with one force condoning violence as a
necessary tool to solve problems and the other force preaching about all of the negative
effects. The force that condones violence is the justice system. Out of the 50 states of
America, 31 still have the death penalty legalized (Durham, 2015). New York recently
abolished the death penalty in 2007 (Durham, 2015). Either the educational system is
failing the children or society is. It is a shame that, “in many other countries of the world,
corporal punishment in any form is illegal” yet the richest, most industrialized nation in
the world has yet to ban this detrimental practice (Clark & Clark, 2007).
Legalized corporal punishment is utilized in the jail system. American law is
hypocritical in that we want our children to think that violence is not the way to solve
problems, yet we impose institutionalized corporal punishment onto our prisoners.
Although there are laws that supposedly protect prisoners from abuse, prison guards are
allowed to carry weapons ranging from mace, to Tasers, to stun guns, and everything else
under the sun (Martin, 2006).
In the book Bad Kids by Barry Feld, Feld tackles another hypocritical aspect of
the jail system. He analyzes the rise and fall of the juvenile system (Feld,1999). In
summary, he speaks on the positive activists who wanted to reform the juvenile system to
allow minors some breathing room before they are tried in court like grown men and
women (Feld, 1999). He also speaks on how there is always strong talks on reform and
change, but the change is mediocre or non-existent (Feld, 1999). Feld captured the
hypocritical nature that society has of claiming to want better for itself but not truly doing
anything because of its own indifference.

This same kind of hypocritical nature is what children notice when they enter into
the adult world. The same people who teach that violence is not right are the same people
imposing violence onto their innocent ones. And the same people who call for the
militarization of the police force are the same people who try to teach their children that
violence is wrong. We have to take a good look at ourselves in the mirror.
Conclusion
Alternatives to corporal punishment include, “deprivation of privileges, reasoning
timeout, grounding, negotiation and compromise, redirecting young children's attention
away from their unacceptable conduct, asking children to come up with a fitting
nonviolent punishment, physical restraint of young children about to engage in rash
activity, letting the child suffer the logical consequences, within reason, of his or her
naughtiness, positive reinforcement of good conduct, such as praise, signs of special
attention and affection, and rewards” (Bitensky, 2006). The main focus of these
alternatives is to draw a distinct line between discipline and love. When a parent spanks
their child, the act makes children question if they are loved and a child should never
question whether or not they are loved by their parents. These alternatives teach children
that hurting someone will never prove that you love them.
Parents have pressures coming from all directions of their lives influencing them
on how to raise their children. This is a cry to prioritize the health of the child first. All of
the pressures are important and need to be addressed, but corporal punishment does not
have to be the most effective way. Peer pressure from church members, neighbors, and

society shouldn’t get in the way between a parent and the health of their child.
Unfortunately, that is what is happening in society lately.
Although, as a society, a lot of work has to get done to align with non-violent
goals, the change starts at home. Teach children how to communicate well. Violence will
not make anyone’s voice heard louder, but an eloquent voice will quiet everyone else’s.

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