Corporal punishment should be meted out to teenagers.

Disagree

1 of 6

by Carol Gioia

• 

Write now Print Invite a writer™ Add to Favorites RSS Feed Contact this writer

Corporal punishment should not be used on teenagers or anyone else. Corporal punishment is the act of inflicting physical pain in order to coerce individuals. This is a method of torture used against prisoners of war, and certainly not an appropriate method of discipline to be used on our children.

The two environments where a teen could potentially be exposed to the threat of corporal punishment would be the school and the home. School is not a prison and home is not a holding cell where the teen is held captive. Teens might possibly feel they are living in a war zone, if they are victims of misguided adults who are resorting to corporal punishment as a form of discipline.

Using physical force to discipline children and teens is the act of undisciplined parents. They are either repeating behavior they experienced in their childhood, or impulsively venting their anger at the moment.

There are many acceptable methods of discipline, such as positive reinforcement, actions and consequence, and time out or grounding. If parents are unfamiliar with these, or other forms of parental disciplining techniques, they need to read books or take parenting classes while their children are still babies and issues of discipline have not yet arisen.

Children do not learn appropriate behavior through being disciplined with physical violence. Violence may sound like a strong word for "spanking," but if a small child is being hit or smacked by an individual much larger and stronger, the child has no defense and is very much the victim of violence.

By the time the same child reaches his teens, he may be the bigger and stronger one. In order to continue the practice of disciplining with physical force, the spanking will escalate to punching, kicking and beating, accompanied by verbal abuse. Such forms of physical force will have extremely negative, long-lasting effect on the teenagers mental and emotional well being.

Some negative effects of using corporal punishment:

* Fosters physical aggression toward others

Children who have been bullied and physically disciplined will grow up to repeat the behavior with others, including their own children. In most cases, the bully on the school playground is a victim of physical agression at home. He will continue bullying and resolving conflicts with physical force throughout his life. We live what we learn. A teen whose parents "beat him up" to keep him in line, will take the same approach with his children and another generation of aggressors will repeat the cycle of abuse.

* Humiliation and low self-esteem

A teenager who has been physically abused under the guise of "discipline" will suffer humiliation and permanent damage to his psyche. He will have anger issues and perceive himself as a "bad person." Negative inner dialogue will infiltrate every aspect of his life. Low self-esteem will render him an emotional cripple who relates poorly to others and cannot succeed in establishing healthy relationships.

His self-confidence may be compromised to the point that professional therapy is needed to undue the damage. Most victims of corporal punishment do not have enough self-awareness to seek therapy and they live out their lives never reaching their optimal potential in productiveness or relationships.

If parents find themselves at a loss, and unable to deal with an out-of-control teen, there are solutions other than corporal punishment. Physical force will only compound the problem. They can seek professional counseling for the teen, or possibly for the entire family. Often a teen's negative behavior is a symptom of deeper underlying issues of dysfunction in the family dynamics.

If children are treated with respect from the time they are young, they learn to be respectful in return. As they grow and develop into teenagers, that aura of mutual respect between parent and child remains intact and the need for discipline can be accomplished with discussions about good and bad choices and differentiating between right and wrong. When stronger methods of discipline are necessary, grounding from friends and social activities is quite effective with most teens.

Good communication is key to maintaining family harmony. Teens who grow up in a healthy family environment, with acceptance, approval and unconditional love, can be guided into acceptable behavior, rather than "forced."

Corporal punishment meted out to teenagers is not an acceptable form of discipline.

Learn more about this author, Carol Gioia.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.