''He who spareth the rod hateth his son, but he that loveth him correcteth him betimes.'' and Withhold not correction from child: for if thou strike him with rod he shall not die. Thou shalt beat him with rod and deliver his soul from hell.''
Today's debate over spanking as discipline or punishment rages as never before. Proponents of spanking quote the adage 'spare the rod and spoil the child', as though it was actually a scripture from the bible. In truth it is not.
I think many of as students are against spanking and wish the rod to be spared. Well, it is right too. But many parents stand forth and practice their role by using the 'rod'. They have a misconception that they are not permitting their child to go astray. When children are spanked, parents think that they have succeed in their duty but what about the child? He/she is misconstrued. With this approach from parents, children become more aggressive towards them. They try to hide their mistake which leads them awry.
Spanking teaches several things, none of them good. What spanking doesn't teach their child is: respect. Fear may be but, respect- no.
A child who is beaten into submission may obey the parent but do they learn anything more than blind obedience. To learn what to think, not how to think? Whereas children should be treated with laxity and permissiveness.
I would like to end up with a couplet by Alexander Pope:
Behold the child by nature's kindly law,
Pleased with rattle, tickled with a straw.
