Physical Punishment Does Not Work
Physical punishment is something that has been argued by parents, doctors, and teachers
for years. Many parents feel that the child is theirs and they should be able to do what they
want. Some parents think that a child is a blessing and should be treated with loving
care. There are many ways to punish a child. Physical punishment does not have to be one
of those ways. Today there are many resources available to show you how to discipline
your child in a non-violent way.
When you hit a child, you are showing that child that hitting is an acceptable way for them to
express their anger and emotions. Some may think that you are doing it for the child's own
good, but how can hitting a child be considered something good? Children learn what we
teach them. If we teach them that it is ok to hit, then they will think that whenever they
don't get their way they can just hit someone or something and they will get what they
wanted.
Hitting does not teach a child "a lesson". Unless being violent is the lesson you wanted that
child to learn. Children learn lessons when we sit them down and talk to them about what
they did wrong and decide on an acceptable punishment. A popular form of non-violent
punishment is "timeout" for the child. When the child misbehaves, have the child sit for a
specified amount of time to give the child time to settle down and maybe think about what it
is that they did wrong.
If a child thinks that every time they do something wrong they will get hit, then eventually
the child will be afraid of misbehaving. Essentially teaching the child they have to be perfect
in order to not get hit. Children need to learn from their mistakes. That is what will help
them grow up into a responsible adult. Being afraid of their parents should not be part of
that lesson...