Physical Discipline to be or not to be

1. Physical Disciplineto be or not to be By Gabrielle Isa Year 8EA

2. What is physical discipline? • Physical Discipline is when a child is punished for doing something wrong through the act of slapping, or beating them with an object e.g. Belt, slippers and other flexible material. In some cases parents will use their hands. • Physical discipline is highly frowned upon in many countries. However it is still in practice today. In places like: Africa, Asia and still in some parts of the USA spanking is still allowed. • In the USA punishment at home is allowed, however no teacher can hit a child. African teachers can still beat a child at school. It now depends on the type of school whether it is a private or public school.

3. My hypothesis • I predict that children that are physically disciplined will eventually be non existent because more and more people are turning against physical discipline . • Physical discipline is not always immediately encouraged; most parents opt for verbal discipline first. Someone who becomes obsessed with beating cannot discipline any child as the person obviously has no control. • Whether the child is physically disciplined depends on the offense the child committed and whether it is worthy of such a high punishment. • Physical discipline is not and should no always be the immediate response to misbehavior unless it is extreme.

4. My Survey • This is the survey I conducted which was given to 16 people. However the 16th person did not hand back their survey and so I only have 15 papers. • Also I did not have access to enough people and the person I asked for help did not fully carry it out. • To the left is a picture of my survey.

5. My Survey Results In my results it showed that most females avoided beating while most males would pick it. However overall all the people were less likely to pick the spanking option.

6. What other people have to say? www.ciccparenting.org The graph shows that many people still do use physical discipline in their homes. It also shows that the older the child gets the less likely the child is to be beaten. It also shows that around the ages of 4 to 8 children are most likely to get spanked. These years are known to some people as the training years, were the child must learn how to respect others, how to behave properly etc.

7. What about the next generation? • My graph showed that the older the person was the more likely they were to pick beating. Even then some adults only used it once. The younger generation also included beating but avoided it when it came to the punishment applying to them. In the graph (which I obtained of the internet) it showed that the older you are the less likely you are to be beaten. So I think that, if this can apply to others, future generations will avoid beating their children, however they will if they must. So the corporal punishment trend may still continue in African countries but it may not last long. In the next 30 years to 50 years the rules may change and parents won’t be allowed to beat their children all over the world. Furthermore the rules could change in a different direction stating that parents do have the right to beat their children all over the world, as the younger generation did in some cases agree with it.

8. History • Beating did not suddenly turn up. It has been there since Medieval Times and before that. People mainly beat their children because it was a from of punishment. • Also it was involved in their religion and traditions. • In some countries it was and still is considered good luck for you if you get smacked as an adult. In Chinese culture young women are also beaten and then they are covered in water. • In the times of the ancient Greeks beating was administered to adults. It was a pagan practice for increasing fertility in women, who were spanked by priests. • Before WW2 it was used to remove the sins of wayward teenage girls in Britain. • Spankings were never supposed to be given in anger but rather in love. The Spanking trend started mainly in Europe, in the Catholic Church.

9. The New York Times • A Focus on the Scourge of Spanking • Published: November 11, 2011 • To the Editor: • Re “Preaching Virtue of Spanking, Even as Deaths Fuel Debate” • Civilization now regards the infliction of physical pain to “correct” adults who break laws and trespass the rights of others as a gruesome relic of times we consider more barbarous than our own. • Until the pastor Michael Pearl and his peers use their pulpits and printing presses to argue the wisdom of resuming these practices for adults, advocacy of their perpetuation toward children for vastly lesser misbehavior reeks of craven despotism over the helpless. • Decades’ worth of evidence shows that harsh treatment of children contributes to, rather than prevents, maladjustment and antisocial behavior. • If this fact does not deter misguided parents, perhaps focusing on their victims’ utter vulnerability will lead them to curb, instead of rationalize, their own aggressive impulses. • JOSEPH BLADERStony Brook, N.Y., Nov. 7, 2011

10. News papers • The text above is an extract from the famous newspaper • This article is about how the beating of a child affects them and how it applies to church. It says that they are also trying to apply these rules to adults as well. Adults can also be beaten. He says that the Pastor uses his ‘pulpits’ to say that people can beat their children. Mean while he thinks it shows cowardly dictatorship over the weaker people which are children. • The writer is a clinical child psychologist and assistant professor of psychiatry at Stony Brook University. This means that he studies children and he should understand how their minds work. • I agree with some of his comments. I think the preacher should re-think his sermon as he is spreading the wrong message to parents and families.

11. My Conclusion • My research does concur with my original hypothesis because the information I got says that physical discipline is still used at homes in certain areas. However the levels of child abuse have increased. This means that people do not have complete control over themselves. • I found out that beating is not only used as a punishment. It is also used for ceremonial purposes. In many cultures it is used to get rid of evil spirits so I see how it can be linked with punishing children. • In total it has now strengthened my resolve that physical discipline is useful and should be used.

12. My Bibliography • www.ciccparenting.com • http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/07/us/deaths-put-focus-on-pastors-advocacy-of-spanking.html • Newspapers • www.wikipedia.com/history-on-corporate-discipline.html • Interviews with people in the area of Ajah.