The issue I wish to present is whether or not spanking leads to a rise in child abuse and later violence. Do children who are spanked or physically punished see spanking as a violent act? Do they learn to see violence as an acceptable way to solve a problem? When parents spank their children are they guiding them or controlling them?

Nancy Samalin, author of Love and Anger, believes that spanking is nothing more than a big person hitting a smaller person and it can do damage to your child's conscious. "A child who obeys because of the fear of being spanked," she explains "is most likely not to develop a sense of right or wrong without being policed by a more powerful authority figure." (Samalin, p. 154). She believes that spanking the child you have not

set an example that you want your child to follow in the future. New studies have shown that children who are abused by their parents physically, emotionally, or sexually grow up and become abusive parents themselves. Further studies have shown that children who are physically punished lack empathy and concern that helps them care for others.

According to University of New Hampshire sociologist Murray Straus "when parents use corporal punishment to reduce [antisocial behavior], the long-term effect tends to be opposite." (Time, p 65). He also suggests that sparing the rod will help reduce overall levels of violence in America. Stratus found that children whose parents spanked them, when compared to those not spanked, were more aggressive, had higher rates of juvenile delinquency, had higher rates of spousal abuse, had lower economic achievement, and showed higher drug and alcohol abuse rates. "By spanking," he claims, "parents model the norm of violence and legitimizes it as a way to solve problems." (Straus, p127). In proving his claim Straus collected information from phone interviews conducted by the United States Bureau of Labor. Statistics started in 1979 with 807 mothers with children ages six to nine. They were asked how many times they had spanked their children in the past week and w

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Approximate Word count = 883
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)