Domestic Corporal Punishment is Always Immoral

Thank you for starting this debate! The resolution reads that "Domestic Corporal Punishment is Always Immoral" First, we must realize that the word "immoral" is subjective, meaning that what is immoral to one person, may not be immoral to another person. Thus, the resolution is impossible to argue from Pro's side because "Domestic Corporal Punishment" is not limited to immoral. Why Corporal Punishment is necessary. 1. You want to be respected. "To be feared (in the sense of reverence) is to be respected. Your children should be weary of going against your rules. It also teaches them to submit to authority regardless of whether or not they agree." 2. . Love. "You have to love your child enough to be tough and do what is necessary to get the desired result. Parent first, friend second." 3. You want to teach them how to make good decisions. "Our destinies are determined by decision-making. Children have the option to obey or face the consequences, and they need to know consequences hurt." 4. You want them to have self-control. "When you are aware of what is on the other side of making a poor decision, it is easier to exercise restraint." 5. You want them to be accountable. "Every decision has an outcome, good or bad. Just as your reward your child for the good, you must also acknowledge and address the bad." 6. You want to set standards. "Children need limits to learn how to grow up with restraint. They will never be able to do whatever they want. Teach them to live by the rules set in place." 7. You see strength not weakness. "Western parents seem to assume fragility rather than strength. Spanking your child properly is not going to damage their self-esteem. Accepting mediocrity and dismissing poor behavior teaches them to indulge in being weak." (http://r.search.yahoo.com...-) Spanking is not abusive: Some people want to argue that spanking is abusive, but abusive parents don't love their children. Most spanking is done in love, and care for the child. [1] Second, abusive parents lash out at their children in anger, not caring if they injure the child or not. But parents that spank do not want to injure their children. Spankings are given to correct the child's behavior. Yes, spankings hurt, but they are done so as to cause no lasting damage. That is why spankings are given on the bottom, for the posterior does not contain any vital organs. Do some parents spank too hard and cause welts and bruises? Yes, and they have gone too far. They have crossed the line between punishment and abuse. But this merely shows that some parents misuse spanking, not that spanking is abusive. Properly done, spanking causes no lasting physical damage" Spanking does not have an effect on a child's mental health: Many people want to complain that corporate discipline has a negative impact on a child's health, when in fact, that isn't the case at all. [3] "Some researchers have reported correlations between receiving corporal punishment and behavioral and emotional problems later in life. However, these studies have several flaws. First, most are correlational. Correlational studies can tell us only that two things are related, but such studies do not tell us how the two things are related. Suppose we see there is a correlation between spanking and delinquency. A correlation only means that spanking and delinquency are related--it does not tell us how they are related. Correlational studies can not tell us what we really want to know: what causes what. It might be that children are delinquent because they were spanked. But it might also be that they were spanked because they were delinquent? A correlational study can not tell us which of these two possibilities is true. Therefore, such studies do not prove that spanking causes delinquency, anti-social behavior, depression or anything else because correlation studies can not prove what causes what. " "Second, many of these studies looked at corporal punishment, not just at spanking. And some studies had a very “inclusive” definition of corporal punishment. They defined corporal punishment not only as hitting on the bottom but also slapping in the face, hitting on the head, boxing the ears, and shaking, among other things. Some of the forms of corporal punishment included in these studies could be considered abusive such as hitting on the head or boxing the ears. So even if we could conclude from these studies that corporal punishment causes emotional and behavior problems, and we can’t because the studies are correlational, but if we could, would it mean that all forms of corporal punishment cause emotional and behavioral problems or only the more severe, abusive forms like hitting on the head or boxing the ears? Larzelere1 found that when abusive forms of punishment were excluded from the definition of corporal punishment, researchers were more likely to find a beneficial outcome to using corporal punishment rather than a negative outcome. So abuse, not spanking, harms children’s emotional and psychological well-being." "Also children in some of these studies were spanked several times per week.2 I suggest that the parents in these studies did not know how to use spanking nor did they know how to raise children. Any parent that needs to spank several times per week has poor parenting skills. So if children in these studies have problems is it because the parents spanked them or because the parents spanked too often or because the parents had poor parenting skills overall? These studies can't tell us." "We know that many children are spanked and turn out fine; they are not aggressive, delinquent, depressed or anti-social. Why? Simons3 found that what leads to aggression, delinquency, and poor psychological well-being is low parental involvement such as parents not loving or trusting their children, not knowing where their children go or who they are with, and not being consistent in discipline. Being spanked did not lead to aggression, delinquency, and poor psychological well-being. Parents that love their children and are involved in their lives may use spanking, but they will never use spanking in a way that harms their children." Sources: [1] http://www.angelfire.com... [2] http://www.angelfire.com... 1Larzelere, R. E. (1996). A review of the outcomes of parental use of nonabusive or customary physical punishment. Pediatrics, 98(4), 824-828. 2See for example, Giles-Sims, J. et al. (1995). Child, maternal, and family characteristics associated with spanking. Family Relations,44, 170-176. 3Simons, R. L. et al . (1994). Harsh corporal punishment versus quality of parental involvement as an explanation of adolescent maladjustment. Journal of marriage and the family, 56, 591-607.