On September 18, 2019, the Constitutional Court ruled that corporal punishment in the home was illegal.
NOT only is corporal punishment illegal but many experts also believe that spanking your children is a form of child abuse.The sting from a belt or a slap on the wrist will quickly fade, but the marks left on a child who suffers from physical reprimand can last a lifetime.
While spanking is a form of corporal punishment, it’s a very mild form. The problem with spanking comes down to the disciplinarian. Many parents strike their children when they are angry, scared or stressed out. Hitting a child does not teach them anything at all. It shows them that if you don’t like the way someone is acting, you can hit them.
Here are five reasons from Power of Positivity as to why you should never use corporal punishment on your children:
1. Violence is never okay. If you use physical correction on your child, you teach them that this is an acceptable way to deal with anger and conflicts.
2.Inflicting pain on a child is damaging
3. It doesn’t work. You may stop the behaviour momentarily, but the backlash from the act of physical violence is long-lasting.
4. Children can suffer esteem problems. When you hit your child, they feel as if there is something wrong with them, they don’t question their behaviour.
5. You’re putting your child in a powerless position. When you’re bending a child over a bed to hit them, you are making them feel powerless.
It shows poor coping skills on the parent’s part. When you’re hitting your child, it’s hard to show them anything other than anger.
Being a parent is hard, and no child comes with a handbook. You want to do the best you can and raise healthy individuals.But find more positive ways of disciplining your child than spanking.
