When do you punish a child and why? What kind of punishment should be used? These questions have been debated for many years. Many parents feel it is ok to spank children as long they do for the right reasons. Parents want to show the child that he or she has done something wrong and they have to be punished. Too often the parent thinks that they are spanking their child because they love them and want them to learn a lesson, but what they need to learn is disciplining a child does not require spanking. .
Some parents and experts have different ways of defining spanking. It is an indefinite term that needs to be explained. To some, spanking is a meek form of discipline that doesn't really hurt the child, but to others it means to strike a child on rear end as a form of physical punishment. Webster's Dictionary defines spanking as striking or slapping the buttocks with an open hand as a means of punishment. This punishment only works for a short period of time. It may stop the child from doing wrong for the mean time but he or she is bound to do it again later. Spanking also causes confusion and rage within the child. .
When a child is hit s/he is angry and resentful. This is not a good way to teach a lesson; especially the one "no hitting". Children will copy the behavior that they see, and if they are hit, then they will hit others. If a parent hits a child then tells him/her not to hit others, all the child sees is a double standard. S/he is not mature enough (does not have high enough thinking power) to understand the lesson if it is not clearly taught and followed through with. (Hillard).
Punishing a child is not as easy as people think. Many parents have tried to approach it in different ways but often become frustrated and resort to spanking. "I am convinced that most parents prefer not to use punishment, but use it when talking fails to change the child's behavior" (Norton 42).