"Corporal punishment is defined as the use of physical force with the intention to causing a child to experience pain, but not injury, for purposes of correction or control of the child's behavior" (Walsh). This form of punishment has been used and accepted for many ages. However, during the last twenty years the debate on whether or not this kind of punishment is acceptable has continued to grow. .
There are many different views on the acceptance and uses of corporal punishment and those views seem to be dependant on a few different characteristics. "The characteristics associated with spanking a child are the age of the child, age and gender of the parent, socioeconomic status, circumstances, and cultural norms." Yet all of these characteristics could easily be put under cultural norms. For it seems that as society and its views on corporal punishment change so do the views of the parents.
Parent's views have been changing throughout the years in a progression, which seems to be leading to the extinction of corporal punishment. Why has this change been occurring? "One reason for this change in attitudes is the heightened awareness of child abuse and its often devastating effects on children's mental and physical development- (Corporal Punishment). Some have said that they used corporal punishment and now regret it. "When I had children growing up in the 60's corporal punishment was the thing used to discipline children. Now with all that has come out [about corporal punishment's effects] I look back and wished I hadn't followed what society's norm was" (Pawlak). Many today try to encourage the use of other forms of punishment, such as sitting a child in a corner for time-out. "I always tell my kids that when they punish my grandchildren they should never hit them.".
In the 1940s and 1950s corporal punishment was a very prevalent and acceptable form of punishment. Many thought hardly anything of it.