Bad for Children?

“Please daddy, not the bathroom,” Josh yelled across the screen. I heard this as I watched on a home video of my brother trying not to get a spanking. He was yelling this hoping to embarrass my father. Corporal Punishment, or the spanking of a child, has become a very heated discussion over the last few years. If this scene would have taken place today, my father could be in court for child abuse.

Today there are cases in courts for this all the time, but is it really that bad for a child? Psychologist Elizabeth Thompson Gershoff, PhD conducted a study to see how children reacted to spankings. She noted, “There is general consensus that corporal punishment is effective in getting children to comply immediately while at the same time there is caution from child abuse researchers that corporal punishment by its nature can escalate into physical maltreatment.”

Most do not know that corporal punishment is still allowed in Georgia public schools. It was even more shocking to find out that 23 states still allow this to happen; so, how do cases end up in court? I personally agree with spanking of a child, but I think that it should only be done by the child’s parents not their school teachers or church leaders.
Anthony Saputo said, “I believe the spanking of a child is considered bad on where the action occurs at. If it took place here in rural Georgia, I think most people would agree that it’s not a bad thing. On the other hand if a person in New York City was to spank a child it would be considered child abuse. It just depends on where you live and how you were raised.”