Argument Essay

Argumentative Essay

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Argumentative Essay

When a child is born he or she is unaware of the people, traditions and even the environment. It is the responsibility of parents to teach their children regarding ethically and morally justified behaviors based on their culture along with traditional education. Hitting children has been the only way of teaching discipline for several years, however, in reality, it can be considered as child abuse. Hitting can be described as a negative physical contact with a child intended to cause distress and pain. Despite considering hitting as a form of abuse many people are there that still believe that hitting a child can teach him or her disciple which is utterly wrong. Thus, making it a topic of debate. This paper will present arguments regarding why hitting a child is wrong along with the views of people that consider this practice right.

Parents are both physically and emotionally stronger as compared to children. They are aware and familiar with the world than children and as their brain is completely developed they are therefore capable of self-control. So when a parent attempts to make a child disciplined or to behave in a better way by hitting them it left a scar on the brain of a child. Also, a child might think that hitting is the only way to be dominating so they practice the same with other children as well. According to the research conducted by the author M.A. Rajalakshmi, physically punishing a child can cause not only physical, psychological, and emotional side effects but can also play a major role in retarding the process of children normal brain functioning and developing (Rajalakshmi, 2018). The author also discussed that physical punishment such as hitting can be differentiated into corporal punishment and harsh corporal punishment. Both the punishments can significantly damage the normal brain functioning of a child. The author also conducted a survey in which he gave a questionnaire to the participant while also interviewed the participants as well. The results revealed that the participants had a history of psychiatric disorders were the ones that were subjected to physical violence either by teachers or by parents. Also, the hitting that can result in severe injury was associated with a reduction in the gray matter present in the left medial temporal gyrus. This gray matter is responsible for social cognition so if a child is hit by parents then the stress level can lead a child into depression and a child will consider that to rectify bad behavior or to make an individual disciplined hitting him or her is essential.

Despite the above-mentioned research many people still think and believe that hitting a child is the most effective way to teach him or her about disciple. According to these people, hitting a child hard enough is not justified yet the minor hitting or spanking is justified owing to certain circumstances. According to these people, the anti-spanking and hitting opponents have created an ethical dilemma for many parents due to which they shy away from disciplining children by hitting them. Due to this reason, parents tend to rely upon other alternatives such as taking away the toys from children or allocating them extra chores or even withdrawing several privileges during the recession period to teach them discipline. However, people think that by using the alternatives of hitting will make the children rebellious and they may take drastic steps such as leaving their homes. These people further argue that the current generation has decayed morals as compared to the older generation because the older people were brought up in a culture where spanking and hitting was justified.

Although the above-presented arguments may seem a bit persuasive all the arguments mentioned do not have any proof neither there is evidence that supports hitting can make children disciplined. Thus, these arguments can be neglected as just the perception of a few groups of people based on the stereotypical thinking that is prevailing in our society from ages regarding hitting a child can make him or her disciplined.

Similarly, in a research conducted by the author Louis Fairchild and his fellow researcher William M. Erwin, the authors discussed the consequences that physical punishment can cause to a child (Fairchild & Erwin, 1977). According to the authors, many years ago hitting a child was accepted worldwide and was also considered as the only appropriate way of eliciting behavioral compliance that is conceptually distinct from physical abuse. However, this perception began to alter when many studies establish the correlation between the physical punishment such as hitting with child aggression, spousal assault, and delinquency in later life. This argument provides evidence that not hitting a child will make him rebellious but if a child is hit by parents then there are chances that he or she might go against the will of their parents because of aggression. The author further presented a literature review and conducted an experiment in which the participants who were in grade one were asked to watch a one-minute video n which a boy was hit and yelled at by his parents. Then the kids were asked to play with the dolls and teddy bears. The results revealed that the students who watched the video showed more aggression as compared to the children who did not watch the video. Thus, hitting a child can be considered as a major cause of child aggression.

All the above-mentioned findings are consistent with the growing body of literature present on the influence of adverse childhood experiences on the cognitive, neurological and physical development of an individual. In conclusion, parents should not hit the children to teach them discipline rather focus on take time and explain the importance of good behavior so that they know the difference between wrong and right.

References

Fairchild, L., & Erwin, W. M. (1977). Physical punishment by parent figures as a model of aggressive behavior in children. The Journal of Genetic Psychology, 130(2), 279-284.

Rajalakshmi, M. A. (2018). A Review of the Effects of Corporal Punishment on Brain Development in Young Children.