For some reason, I think I've had this rant before in my weblog. But here goes again: I don't believe in corporal punishment. The use of corporal punishment or physical punishment on children (or anyone, for that matter) is something that makes me absolutely furious. All I have to say is this: There is no reason, EVER, for an adult to hit a child in any way, shape or form. Adults are bigger than children and can do more potential damage. Adults have more life experience and should be able to deal with problems in another way. Finally, hitting a child teaches him or her nothing, other than that if you're bigger than someone, you can hit them. This is in regards to any form of physical punishment--spankings, slapping, hitting, beating, whatever you want to call it. It is unacceptable.
Personally speaking, I don't think that child abuse is enough of a social problem. If children are still getting physically or emotionally abused or neglected, we haven't made it enough of a priority to stop it. By permitting "certain types" of physical abuse in child rearing practices, we are condoning child abuse. And it's not just nurses, teachers, social workers and doctors who are obligated to report suspected child abuse--it's everyone with (I can't remember what the legal term is) "appropriate knowledge." As a parent, you know what's normal for children. Children fall down, that's certain. (I still fall down frequently. It's something I'm working on...) But children don't have fingerprint-shaped bruises around their necks or hand-shaped bruises on their backs. And those kinds of bruises are enough to indicate abuse or another serious problem. You're required to report it--legally, in most states, but definitely morally in all. Period. Also, parental rights should never take priority over the physical and emotional safety of a child. My mum's friend Janie had a foster child placed with them a few years ago. The child was placed with them three times. Each time, he was returned to his family. Each time, about four months later, he was returned to Janie's family. And each time, he was further developmentally delayed because of the abuse and neglect he was receiving at the hands of the people who were supposed to love him and take care of him.
If (as a society) we really think children are as important as we say we do, you'd think that we'd put more of an emphasis on children's well-being and safety.
Parenting is hard. It's probably the hardest thing anyone can ever do. (Notice I said 'parenting.' Anyone can be a mother or father (by being genetic material donors), parenting is something different.) And because the job is difficult, you will often have to take routes in discipline that are time-consuming and maddening. The fact is this: It *is* easier to physically punish a child than to deprive the child of television rights, phone calls, et cetera. (By physical punishment, I'm not talking about things that people usually *define* as abuse. I'm talking about smacks on the bottom or smacking a child's hands.) Those other things take time and effort and, arguably, punish the parent just as much as the child, because they require vigilence. When you hit a child, all you teach him or her is that when you love someone, it's okay to hit them. And that big people can hit smaller people. You're depriving the child of his or her dignity, which can be the worse thing a parent can do to a child. (I'm not even going to get into verbally abusing a child, either outright or by witholding affection or anything like that. I'm against that, too, and have more than a little personal experience with it.)
And to all the people who say "I was spanked as a child and it hasn't affected me! I think spanking is a perfectly acceptable way of disciplining.", I have this response: Isn't the fact that you find ADULTS, who may outweigh children by more than 200 pounds, hitting CHILDREN, acceptable, a sign of lasting damage? Remember, adults have a *social obligation* to care for children because children cannot care for themselves. And hitting children teaches them that hitting is a good way to solve your problems.
