The debate over corporal punishment is a heated and contentious one, with passionate arguments on both sides. Some argue that it is an effective method of discipline, while others contend that it is a form of abuse.
From time immemorial, parents have used a variety of methods to discipline their children. Some of these methods are harsh and physical, while others are more gentle and peaceful. However, the line between discipline and abuse is often blurred.
Imagine a child, trembling with fear as their parent raises a hand to strike them. Is this discipline or abuse?
Corporal punishment is increasingly regarded as an act of violence against children. These punishment include any use of physical punishment against a child in response to misbehaviour. The most commonly use include spanking, smacking and slapping, it also include the use of an object such as a rod or stick, hair pulling and ear twisting.
While corporal punishment may seem like an effective way to discipline children, the potential for physical and psychological harm, as well as the risk of abuse, outweigh any potential benefits.
It has been argued that corporal punishment is important towards keeping conventions and ensuring conformity. It is argued that pains are a strong tool in enforcing obedience, comportment and rectitude. Evidently, like cows are known to stray into dangerous highways until the Fulani herdsman beats them with a stick, so too mammalian human beings can benefit from the good old staff. Even though corporal punishment has been used for centuries as a method of disciplining children, it has come under scrutiny in recent years due to concerns about its harmful effects.
In the human society, some imaginable issue has been debated in recent times, the issue of corporal punishment has garnered serious attention from philosophers, psychologists, and social scientists flexing their muscles as they bring weight to bear on the issues. While some school of thought feel it is anachronistic and even barbaric, some others submit that it is futuristic if one is to contextualise corporal punishment within our milieu.
There is a also a reason why Jesus Christ would always paint the picture of a shepherd with his staff. The staff is definitely not just for walking but also to ensure compliance of the herd even when it is for their own good. Biblically, the relationship of God with the Israelites offers a salient example. We do know that in some parts of the Bible, God inflicted corporal punishment on the Israelites whom he loved so much even to the extent of sending poisonous snakes to remind them to look up to Him and correct their errors. The human society without corporal punishment prospectively anarchical is imminently troubling. Pain is a panacea in this regard.
There are some sorts of human beings that exercise restraint only at the instance of the morbid fear of pain. Ivan Pavlov’s experiment on conditioned response offers a strong pointer to what a dog could do when instead of getting a delicacy when he hears the bell; he gets the sharp end of a whip!
With the above argument, it would seem that pain has just merits, it is however not always rosy. The use of corporal punishment undo the work of civilization. It is believed that at this stage in history, human beings would have become so advanced that they would not need corporal punishment to be mobilized towards doing the right thing.
More so, the often-harped civilized countries of the west have started eschewing corporal punishment from their society. Nowadays in their culture, we hear of “detention” in schools and “grounded” at home. It is the fact that the use of corporal punishment whether it is from a parent or teacher could he termed an abuse and would be followed by prosecution in most cases. Evidently, their societies are not doing worse than ours as they have continued to spearhead research, development and global politics. There are certainly some merits in the opinion of this particular school of thoughts.
Psychologists have submitted that man is a product of his environment, thus when one raises an individual like a beast, he turns out to be a beast, inflicting pains at every turn. The “Tarzan syndrome” takes effect.
Tarzan, a Disney character was raised in a jungle and turned out being like one of the animals, living and speaking like them.
Our socio-cultural context has implied that we have already chosen sides. Corporal punishment is not illegal in our society and parents are largely allowed to exercise discretion with regard to the pattern of training they wish to explore in the training of their children. Teachers are also trusted to ensure that their pupils and students turn out to be the best they can be, if corporal punishment helps them do that, then so be it. This is by no means easy either is it straightforward.
The report from family homes and schools would force a rethink in the policy of corporal punishment. Some kids and children have been abused and in some cases brutalized by their parents or guardians. Some have been burnt with hot objects while some have been “boiled” with hot water, inflicting a lifelong scar physically and psychologically. In these instances, the punishments are hardly commensurate with the offence.
The beating of offending kids and children who are mostly minor, like criminals are barbaric and wicked. For instance, what offence would a 10 year old girl commit that would warrant a defacing burn? In this particular regard, correction and abuse Loosely interact and outcry as the ‘receiver’ of the punishment.
More than physical, corporal punishment is an emotional hurt that causes the worst effects. Your child will most likely develop a self-image of a looser and might end up having no respect for themselves They gets the idea that term them a ‘bad’ child and it stays with them like a scar for a very long time. The physical and psychological harm caused by corporal punishments is not worth the supposed benefits, and alternative methods of discipline should be used instead.”
The psychological harm caused by corporal punishment which is the brain responds to stress and trauma and this can lead to long-term psychological damage such as such as anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. The argument is that corporal punishment may be necessary but its abuse is barbaric and animalistic. The arguments against corporal punishment would warrant a largely stems from its abuse. The boundaries of the human character are manifested in this regard. The truth is simply stronger than fiction. The flogging of a 14 year old girl and the exacerbating of her scars with pepper is not in any stretch, correctional neither is it necessary, it is extreme.
Reservation is advised when using corporal punishment. For all their good conscience, parents, guardians and teachers must be made to understand that the distinction between good and bad is almost non-existent. Good intentions can easily be misinterpreted as an abuse. When it comes to disciplining children, there are many different methods that can be used, but not all of them are equally effective or healthy. By choosing positive, non-violent methods of discipline, we can help children develop into happy, healthy, and well-adjusted adults.
Summarily, the “carrot and the stick” approach has proven to be a better pattern but the carrot should not be hidden behind a big stick, if anything the stick must be commensurate with the carrot. The intention behind the corporal punishment must be obfuscated behind the punishment itself or else the purpose is defeated. Thus punishment should be differentiated from maltreatment. They are not the same, let’s call a spade a spade.
– Oyibo Esther
300L Student, Prince Abubakar Audu University, Anyigba, Kogi State.
