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« We're going to Vermont | Main | B-b-but of course you need a guitar!! » Corporal Punishment Doesn't WorkI often hear people say the reason teens and college-aged kids are so obnoxious and bratty (as compared to previous generations) is because their parents didn't hit them enough when they were growing up. Now, those of you who read this blog regularly or who know me personally have heard me regularly express the wish for a stick with which to hit stupid people. Now, a) i know hitting people with sticks (or Hammers of Justice) would be wrong and illegal and b) you guys never let me do it. So why is it ok and acceptable to say kids should not only be abused, but abused more? Ok, a smack on the bottom once in a while - not really "abuse" (and once the Bush Administration gets a hold of the word, hitting someone with a baseball bat repeatedly will also not be considered abuse). But it's still not ok for me to go and smack the person who sass-mouthed me at work, right? Oh, well, those are strangers. You can't do that to strangers. Fine. Is it ok for a someone to do it to their spouse for not washing the dishes? Would you go to work and talk about how you pinched your roommate the night before when they talked back to you? But if you did that to a 5 yr old, that's fine. Am i the only one who sees a problem here? And what exactly are you teaching children by this practice? The simple answer is "bad behaviour will result in punishment". What if you're also teaching them that it's ok to hit someone when they do something you don't like? Or mom's a mean bitch? Or that they can't trust their parents? Mebbe it cows children to be "respectful to" (read "afraid of") their parents. But what the hell kind of relationship is that? No wonder their kids are putting them in a nursing home the first chance they get. The typical parent, when whacking a misbehaving child, doesn't pause to wonder: "What does science have to say about the efficacy of corporal punishment?" If they are thinking anything at all, it's: "Here comes justice!" And while the typical parent may not know or care, the science on corporal punishment of kids is pretty clear. Despite the rise of the timeout and other nonphysical forms of punishment, most American parents hit, pinch, shake, or otherwise lay violent hands on their youngsters: 63 percent of parents physically discipline their 1- to 2-year-olds, and 85 percent of adolescents have been physically punished by their parents. Parents cite children's aggression and failure to comply with a request as the most common reasons for hitting them. I know it can be frustrating when they don't listen to you, especially when you spent the last 8 hours at a stressful job and sat another hour in traffic to get home. But wouldn't it be better if they did what you told them out of love for you, out of respect, and because they've learned that mom and dad are always right instead of from fear of retribution (this clearly has no bearing on me hitting stupid people because, as we all know, stupid people are too dumb to learn so we might as well hit them with sticks and Hammers of Justice)? I haven't got any kids so i'm clearly not talking from a place of experience. But i was a kid once and considering how resentful i still am about some of the things my parents have said to me, i think that if they topped it off with spankings or slaps or pinchings, i really really would have zero warm feelings of filial devotion to them. I don't think the short term relief is worth the possible long term effects. By min | September 26, 2008, 11:10 AM | Science Commentsi wash the damn dishes! don't hit me! "and b) you guys never let me do it." -Comrade min Oh come on. You know me, and you know that I would let you hit people with a stick. I might even provide a stick for you to hit people with. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shillelagh_(club) Does that make me a bad person? Well yes, actually it does. But I'm OK with that. |