Corporal Punishment - The rage and the beatdown

- Corporal Punishment -

By Jamike O. M . Ekennia-Ebeh

What is this corporal punishment of a thing? Well there are several ways of looking at it.

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Wikipedia defines it as; -

"...a form of physical punishment that involves the deliberate infliction of pain as retribution for an offence, or for the purpose of disciplining or reforming a wrongdoer, or to deter attitudes or behaviour deemed unacceptable. The term usually refers to methodically striking the offender with the open hand or with an implement, whether in judicial, domestic, or educational settings."

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The Encyclopedia Brittanica defines it as;-


"...the infliction of physical pain upon a person’s body as punishment for a crime or infraction. Corporal punishments include flogging, beating, branding, mutilation, blinding, and the use of the stock and pillory. In a broad sense, the term also denotes the physical disciplining of children in the schools and at home."


The Lawdictionary.org website defines it as;-

"Physical punishment as distinguished from pecuniary punishment or a fine; any kind of punishment of or inflicted on the body, such as whipping or the pillory; the term may or may not include imprisonment, according to the context."

It's a fairly common practice all over the world, as it involves the traditional practice of someone physically afflicting pain (a meager amount usually) a child or other person who is usually younger than themselves (I would have said striking, however it seems actually cruel to use that word though, like "attacking" for example) in order to engage them in instruction and/or correction. It is one of the most basic means of direct discipline. 

Let me make it clear, first, as much as i could sugar coat the term, there is no way to make corporal punishment look like a "nice thing to do". That is because it isn't nice, but rather it is necessary in my opinion. Second; It is a matter of opinion, method and frequency i believe that will show how important or necessary that the practice is in raising and disciplining of the child rather than strict population polls or surveys to show its effectiveness.

I'm not saying that without corporal punishment it will be impossible to raise a strong independent, well minded individual, who is able to become an integral, useful and functional part of the society now, or in the future. However, the definition of a good child can vary in everyone's mind. Those who have grown up with the discipline of corporal punishment understand its usefulness late in life, normally when they have their own children, they understand the struggles of trying t engage a child in understanding certain principles of action, thought and method, and understand that the fastest way and most effectively lasting way to ensure that a child behaves properly, most especially as you deem fit that he/she does such is to have them go through what i refer to as the "hot-hand effect". This is relation to the experience of burning one's hand. Once you have ever in your life put your hand on a gas stove or any other suitably hot area or substance, you immediately withdraw your hand in pain, and it sears into your memory that painful experience, making sure that you never again allow yourself to subject your hand to that kind of situation. That's the way that corporal punishment works, after being caned or spanked or what have you, the lasting memory is usually enough to ward one off from engaging in such a situation to earn that form of punishment again. After a few times, and mostly even after one such experience, from memory, the simple threat of being subjected to that punishment is enough to keep any child in line. This effect last up and throughout the early and late teenage year, when most parents have usually quit physically punishing their children as they see that the early experiences have shaped and molded them into individuals they are sure will make the right choices from the past experiences they've had and would have, by that time, developed a suitable and acceptable capability to discern well enough between right and wrong.

In all fairness, it is fairly possible to achieve this level of capability with a non-corporal punishment discipline regime, however the levels and rate of success, as we can see from prevailing trends in developing society and most countries today are not encouraging. In most countries, like Nigeria for example, where corporal punishment is prevalent, the concept of teenage rebellion is taken very seriously, and is drastically lower than in countries such as America or Britain (ie the U.K.) where other far milder techniques are practiced, encouraged and used. The idea is that of you deny your child certain privileges, such as television, games, money, toys or even company ( eg. grounding your child) then the child will be motivated or forced to learn compliance to the rules and regulations that you set, however the reason that this method tends to fail woefully in some, or rather - many, cases is because the children eventually fin out that all these monetary/material items and possessions can all be forfeited or given up on with relative ease once their minds are set and determined. Accentuating this is the fact that rarely any parent is willing to continue subjecting their child/children to the denial of these things for a long enough period of time, or at a serious enough level to warrant its full effectiveness. The pain lasts moments, as a non-too tragic emotional setback and leaves no memory upon which to look back and fear.

The bible says in Proverbs 13:24, in a phrase which most have come to see and understand worded as "Spare the rod and spoil the child", but in the bible is phrased in actuality as "Whoever spares the rod hates their children, but the one who loves their children is careful to discipline them." in the NIV, and from the KJV, "He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes". The fact of the matter is that, as the love for your child extends far beyond the present NOW, it is in your wisest interest to discipline him/her in order to ensure that they do turn out very well, and all for the best. All in all, I advocate for this idea and concept of corporal punishment, in moderation and never in excess. 

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I am a firm believer in discerning between the right and wrong, and I understand also that there are parents and guardians that take this idea of discipline to the extreme in their "quest" for engaging in their so-called disciplinary measures. I myself remember having being caned by my father only ever twice in my life. This two times were never extreme, and were only because i had acted out in an extremely inappropriate way. My father was not one for involving in corporal punishment but knew that in some cases, and at times it was necessary ....and all for the greater good.

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There is a fine line between corporal punishment being used as a necessary disciplinary measure and being used as a form of abuse on a person. The fact f the matter is that it is in actuality very hard to define where that point, the line between punishment an unacceptable abuse is. That sis the reason why we have far and/or quite too many people clamoring for eradication of the method entirely, citing these terrible examples where children were severely beaten and not disciplined. There IS a difference, between punishment and abuse, it depends variably on a lot of things such as the person(s) involved as well as the situation and the tool. In the end the choice is only up to you to punish either your children or your wards as you believe best, and i pray you only the best in your endeavors as such.

The idea is to DISCIPLINE your child....not kill them. Teach them the error of their ways...of bad behavior, not make them doubt your love for them and look for an excuse to wish you out of their life in the future. They should be told and explained to the reason for the punishment, communication is a vital and very important part of the correcting and instructing process, they need to understand that you are engaging ONLY in a form of punishment you deem necessary, and not inflicting pain on them because you hate them or wish to take their lives. Love is a part of this as much as sternness is to it.

In parting, i leave you with two verses from the bible 

Proverbs 19:18; "Discipline your children, for in that there is hope; do not be a willing party to their death."

Proverbs 29:17;" Discipline your children, and they will give you peace; they will bring you the delights you desire."

References;
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporal_punishment   (LA: 7:13 pm 16/09/2014)
2. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/138384/corporal-punishment  (LA: 7:13 pm 16/09/2014)
3. http://thelawdictionary.org/corporal-punishment/  (LA: 7:34 pm 16/09/2014)
4. Bible; Proverbs 13:24, 19:18 and 29:17
5. http://biblehub.com/proverbs/13-24.htm (LA: 1:03 am 17/09/2014)
6 . Picture images have their sites of origination linked in the captions under them

You can read more on corporal punishment at ---> http://thestir.cafemom.com/teen/121154/kids_are_never_too_old