physical force is a justifiable method of punishing children

Physical punishment also referred to as corporal punishment according to me is not at all a justifiable method of punishing children. I would like to give a few definitions to begin--- corporal punishment is the use of physical force with the intention of causing a child to experience pain, but not injury, for the purpose of correction or control of the child's behavior. In corporal punishment, an adult usually hits various parts of the child's body with a hand, or with canes, paddles, yardsticks, belts, or other objects expected to cause pain and fear. Spanking is a form of corporal punishment intended to modify behavior usually defined as a physically non-injurious hit administered with an open hand to the buttocks. (http://www.irm-systems.com...) It is never right to hit a child. Even the power of physical punishment to teach a child the difference between right and wrong is dubious; a young child may learn that the adult is displeased, but not why. Spanking will cause a state of extreme distress and confusion which makes it less likely they will analyze their behaviour with clarity. In older children disciplined at school, a physical punishment is likely to provoke resentment and further misbehaviour. Physical punishment can never solve any problems !!! All it does is to aggravate the situation. The actual physical damage inflicted via corporal punishment on children can be horrifying. Examples can be found of students needing treatment for broken arms, nerve and muscle damage, and cerebral haemorrhage. Spanking of the buttocks can cause damage to the sciatic nerve and therefore the leg to which it leads.The buttocks are a sexual zone; adults can derive pleasure from administering punishment to that zone, and can affect the psychosexual development of the children receiving it. Even the presence of another adult does not prevent the easy degeneration from punishment into child abuse. A notorious case from Arizona in 1995 saw school principal Michael Wetton, who had previous convictions for violence against children, convicted of abuse after forcing a 9 year-old boy and a 15-year old girl to strip naked and be paddled. In the girl's case, her mother was present, but "too frightened to resist".(http://www.idebate.org...) Research has demonstrated a link between physical punishment and several negative developmental outcomes for children: physical injury, increased aggression, antisocial behavior, poorer adult adjustment, and grater tolerance of violence. Research has also shown that physical punishment poses a risk to the safety and development of children. It is imperative for parents to gain an awareness of other approaches to discipline because physical punishment can easily cross the line into child abuse and result in death. Each year thousands of children continue to die as a result of physical abuse. Children have a right to be protected from physical abuse. Most parents want to discipline their children without the use of physical punishment. Parents' disciplinary methods serve as strong models to children that teach them how to deal with challenges presented by life from day to day. It is important for parents to model appropriate behavior and to establish expectations as well as limits. The dignity and rights of children must be respected. Parents must consistently use fair and logical consequences whenever children fail to follow rules(http://www.socialworkers.org...) Of all tyrannies, a tyranny exercised for the good of its victims, may be the most oppressive. Those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end, for they do so with the approval of their own conscience." - C.S. Lewis, 1952 In 24 countries around the world, it is illegal for a parent, teacher, or anyone else to spank a child, and 113 countries prohibit corporal punishment in schools(http://www.naturalchild.org...) . As it is even against the law therefore i consider physical punishment to a be a crime and therefore there can be no justification for it . In the eyes of the law physical punishment is same as murder and nothing can justify the 2 !!!! Moreover all the parents/ teachers who physically punish children are brutish beasts.They have no right to hit anyone . What if the same started happening with adults that if someone made a mistkae we hit that person.Hitting children teaches them to become hitters themselves. Also extensive research data is now available to support a direct correlation between corporal punishment in childhood and aggressive or violent behavior in the teenage and adult years. Virtually all of the most dangerous criminals were regularly threatened and punished in childhood. It is nature's plan that children learn attitudes and behaviors through observation and imitation of their parents' actions, for good or ill. Thus it is the responsibility of parents to set an example of empathy and wisdom.(http://www.naturalchild.org...). The United Nations too takje s the same same stand on the matter. Corporal punishment of children breaches their fundamental human rights to respect for human dignity and physical integrity. Its legality in almost every state worldwide - in contrast to other forms of inter-personal violence - challenges the universal right to equal protection under the law. The aims of the Global Initiative already have the support of UNICEF, members of the Committee on the Rights of the Child and key international human rights organisations and individuals. Click here for details of supporters of the Global Initiative. In previous centuries, special defences existed in legislation in many states to justify corporal punishment of wives, servants, slaves and apprentices. Violence to women remains far too prevalent, but in most states it is no longer defended in legislation. It is paradoxical and an affront to humanity that the smallest and most vulnerable of people should have less protection from assault than adults. Click here for PDF (550KB) of the Global Initiative Handbook: Hitting people is wrong and children are people too. During the first decade of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) its Treaty Body, the Committee on the Rights of the Child, has consistently stated that persisting legal and social acceptance of corporal punishment is incompatible with the Convention. The CRC requires states to protect children from "all forms of physical and mental violence" while in the care of parents and others (article 19).Other human rights Treaty Bodies - the Human Rights Committee, Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (in a recent General Comment) and the Committee Against Torture - have also condemned corporal punishment of children in various contexts, but not as yet comprehensively. The United Nations rules and guidelines on juvenile justice all support prohibition of corporal punishment. In 1999, a resolution of the Commission on Human Rights called on states "to take all appropriate national, bilateral and multilateral measures to prevent all forms of violence against children...". It requested all relevant human rights mechanisms, in particular special rapporteurs and working groups, within their mandates, "to pay attention to the special situations of violence against children". ((http://www.endcorporalpunishment.org...). PS-the reason for my forfeiting the 2nd round was because i had to go out of station for district level debate competition !