Does Spanking Make A Child Misbehave?

Another reason as to why spanking can make a child misbehave more is because the child might not always understand their parents intentions. As a child, it can be difficult deciphering the reason as to why their parent spanked them. Unless, the parent explains what the child did wrong they could begin to believe that they were spanked just because their parents were angry, not due to the fact that they were misbehaving. This also can lead to another negative effect, besides increased misbehavior, spanking can diminish the relationship between a parent and their child. The parent-child relationship can be ruined if the parent uses corporal punishment in a moment of rage. In a article found on goodparent.org titled, “Evidence Favoring the Use …show more content…
Also, at that point spanking no longer is a form of discipline, but rather a punishment. This also brings up another issue with spanking. If spanking becomes a punishment, than it no longer follows the purpose of using it. In an article written by Jared Pingleton titled, “Spanking Can Be an Appropriate Form of Child Discipline,” he explains the difference between punishment and discipline. Pingleton states that “punishment is motivated by anger, focuses on the past, and results in either compliance (due to fear) or rebellion… on the other hand, discipline is motivated by love for the child, focuses on the future, and results in obedience and feelings of security.” It can be difficult controlling ones anger, but punishing a child under those circumstances can create a fear based relationship between the parent and their child. This could cause the child to become hostile too. The possible hostility will not only affect the parent-child relationship, but can also damage the child’s relationship with other people in their …show more content…
For instance, in an article titled, "Spanking Children: Evidence and Issues” the authors stated that although spanking is not considered abusive it still has the possibility of causing the psychological effects a more abusive type of punishment would. This is because spanking “can exert biochemical, functional, and structural changes in the brain (Kazdin and Benjet 100). In some cases it has shown changes in cerebral volume and increased or decreased reactivity to various neurotransmitters (Kazdin and Benjet 100). In an article found on ahaparenting.com titled, “Should You Spank Your Child,” they also explained that spanking can affect a child’s brain. They states that children who suffered from corporal punishment had less gray matter in their frontal cortex, and to have amygdalas that are more hyper-vigilant.” They explain that spanking doesn’t have the exact same consequences as abusive spanking, but this possibility can’t be neglected. It’s difficult for the brain to be able to distinguish the difference between abusive and disciplinary spanking