Children should be protected against all forms of physical punishment, including spanking. Discipline is necessary in raising children - requiring patience, time, and hard work by the parent. There are a variety of disciplines that may be used on children to make them obey "choosing the most efficient one can be quite difficult for a parent." Some parents do believe that disciplining through physical punishment, which can incorporate spanking, will teach the child a lesson, stopping the bad behavior. The idea of spanking a child has been a controversial topic that brings upon very strong opinions on whether or not it is acceptable. Spanking can go from a light tap, to bringing belts and paddles into the scene. A fine line should be drawn between trying to teach a child a lesson and acting abusively to get a point across. Any form of physical punishment to a child is wrong, since it can lead to child abuse and cause even more behavioral problems. .
Children need their parents to set good examples of empathy and good judgment for them. Children naturally look up to their parents and may follow through with violent actions performed by some parents; leading the child to physically hurt classmates and/or siblings. Easily a young, vulnerable child assumes that the physical punishment that was used on them is acceptable. Children believe that if their parents spank them on frequent occurrence, it is then okay to hit others, too. Parents should realize that they are the main role models in their children's lives; they have a huge impact on what kind of person their child will become. There has been extensive research done on child abuse, concluding that there is a strong correlation between physical punishment in childhood and aggressive behavior in later years. Also, it is noted that parents who were physically abused as children are more likely to spank their own child compared to a parent who was disciplined in a non-abusive way.
