Corporal Punishment

Earlier this week in the news there was a story about a teacher who had told her class to line up and hit the "class bully". I was appalled and immediately thought that the teacher was the real bully. She was training future generations of children to use corporal punishment to solve their problems.

I was relieved to hear that the teacher was fired and being prosecuted for reckless endangerment of the children in her class. What would have happened if the "Bully" had been injured by the repetitive hitting? Is it really the right answer to punish someone who teases, taunts and even hits his or her classmates by using the same bad behavior.

During slavery, owners would beat their property if they misbehaved or tried to run away. Slavery was outlawed. Parents should know that in some states if you use any object other than an open hand to spank your child, you will be arrested and may go to jail. I think that all people should follow a simple rule that I instilled in my children at a very young age:

"No biting, no fighting, no hitting nor scratching."

These are very simple rules but they also teach children how to solve their problems without using violence. Why do parents think it is fine to teach children not to hit but then turn around and use corporal punishment on their children when they misbehave or make a mistake? I do not understand this logic.

I was raised as a Baptist. You were considered a good parent if you spanked your child. When I was very young, my mother would make me get my own switch from a tree outside our house to beat me. My father only spanked me once with his hand. I learned from him that corporal punishment was not needed to discipline a child. "Spare the rod, spoil the child", does not give a parent the right to beat their children. If you believe every passage in the Bible, you would kill a person at the same time you turn the other cheek.

How many studies have been published about the detrimental impact of spanking a child? In movies such as "Roots" and "Amistad", the depiction of humans being beaten by their owners is enough to make you questions ever hitting any person. Why would a parent want to hit their child?

If you were raised by a parent who hit you, you will be more likely to use this form of punishment on your children. Does it make it right? If you were raised by a sexual molester, would you molest your own children? Does it make it right? The answer to both questions is a sharp, "NO!"

We are living in the 21st century. We should be able to say that humans have evolved beyond violence. Sadly, as a species I feel as if we are returning to the Stone Ages. Should clubbing and hitting be our only form of communication?

I never hit my children. They knew when they had misbehaved or had not obeyed a rule. They knew there would be consequences for bad behavior and I would enforce my punishments. Sometimes parents want to be friends with their children. Make friends with other adults and parent your children so that they grow up to be self sufficient and functional adults.

Parenting is hard and it takes discipline. If you are too tired to hand out a punishment without resorting to beating your child, then take a parent time out and deliver the punishment when you are in control of your emotions. If you can't set an example for your children about how to control your own emotions, how can you expect them to control theirs?