Spank Children Research Paper

The Spanking Controversy Four out of five Americans believe it is “sometimes appropriate” to spank a child (Horton). Does painful punishment build a better person? Over the years, there has been a lot of back and forth controversy over whether or not it is an acceptable form of punishment for parents to spank their children. This subject is interesting because I have a 3 year old son who is wild and crazy, and sometimes does not do as he is told. I am also interested in seeing what both sides of this debate have to say, and how they back up the reasoning for their arguments. So the question remains, should parents be allowed to spank their children or should spanking be considered child abuse? The audience involved in this issue would include some of the following type of people and entities: Child Protective Services (CPS), Legislators who make the laws, and more importantly parents who have children and people who want or plan to have children. These are the active people …show more content…
Each professional is from a different profession and have very different views on the topic. On the side for spanking is a pediatrician, Dr. David Safir, who is a father and grandfather of five. Dr. Safir said “he was spanked as a child, spanked his own children when necessary and believes the occasional use of physical punishment -- not abuse -- can be an effective tool for parents” (Zeidler). On the side against spanking is Dr. Barbara Greenberg, a psychologist who specializes in parenting, teens, and family. She believes that "Physical punishment instills a feeling of shame," and goes on to say that, "Shame also leads to depression and anxiety” (Zeidler). I believe that this article is helpful due to what the doctors specialize in. It is interesting that a head doctor and a health doctor have two completely different opinions on the