Thethical Ethical Practice Of Corporal Punishment For Children
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The debate surrounding the ethical practice of corporal punishment is a long one. For years, parents, as well as teachers, have argued whether or not they should physically punish children. By definition, corporal punishment is “physical pain inflicted on the bodies of a child as a penalty for disapproved behavior” (Dupper & Montgomery Dingus, 2008). This includes the use of any intentional methods such as hitting, spanking, paddling, exercise drills, painful body postures, and even electric shock. These methods usually end in injuries such as welts, blood blisters, severe bruising, hematomas, and broken blood clots (Dupper et al, 2008). In the Victorian Era, parents believed their child’s laziness and inability to obey them alienated the child from God. So teachers were deemed ideal for guiding children away from ignorance and sin (Dupper et al, 2008). Since then, teachers have been the only ones allowed, by law, to administer this form of discipline as long as the punishment was reasonable but not excessive (Andero & Stewart, 2002). Corporal punishment was deemed the essential instrument in producing upstanding citizens to “beat out the obstinacy of original sin” and to ensure children were actually learning their school lessons (Dupper & Montgomery Dingus, 2008). The main controversy that arises with corporal punishment is whether it causes psychological harm or not. Much of the literature pertaining to corporal punishment supports the idea that it does impact the