TOPIC: CORPORAL PUNISHMENT FOR CHILDREN
             Should Parents Be Allowed To Use Corporal Punishment To Correct Their Children
             Corporal punishment for children (including smacking, spanking and hitting) in the home and school is banned in nine European countries. Bans are currently being debated by the government of New Zealand. Some people argue that if we ban corporal punishment, we will promote a less violent culture. Others believe that corporal punishment for children is a useful form of discipline, it does not harm the child if it is done carefully and with love. This essay will discuss the healthy effects of corporal punishment, show the problems caused by prohibition, and consider whether a change in section 59 of the Crime Act is the best solution to the problems.
             Corporal means relating or belonging to the body, punishment is "the severity of the punishment must be in keeping with the kind of obligation which has been violated." Thus, corporal punishment is using force (such as smacking, spanking, hitting and so on) directed at a body (Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary). It is kind of child abuse.
             It has been approximately thirty years since the physical punishment of children became a significant topic of public discussion in New Zealand. How prevalent is physical punishment and what is public attitude towards it? It is very common for parents to punish children with physical punishment and many of parents support it.
             According to Ritchie and Ritchie's research (1981), nearly eighty-nine percent of parents agreed with corporal punishment, and the other eleven percent accepted that parents have the right to use corporal punishment. From the Ritchie's studies the use of this punishment had increased between 1971 and 1981. However, the attitudes toward smacking changed according to another similar research undertaken by Maxwell in 1993. Even so, 87% of parents believed that smacking is acceptable. Al...