Ashliy Medley
Staff Writer
In recent news, Minnesota Vikings’ running back Adrian Peterson was accused of beating his son with a tree branch. Peterson was arrested because authorities believed his actions violated Texas’ law on physical discipline of children.
The question on the minds of many is if Peterson’s discipline was too harsh? Many believe that there is a thin line between spanking as a form of discipline and physical abuse. The difference depends on the parent’s intent and severity.
Whether your parents referred to it as “whippings” or “spankings” physical discipline is one of the worst parts of parent-children relationship.
Most parents don’t enjoy spanking their children, but feel it’s a part of successfully raising their children.
Some states like Texas have laws that give parents the right to physically discipline their children as long as it is not abusive.
These laws give parents the right to raise their children as they see fit, including the use of whatever method of discipline they think is best as long as it is done in moderation and does not cause injury.
While many people are outraged at Peterson’s situation because they may believe that the result of physical punishment is more lasting than and that physical punishments hurt children permanently, I believe that physical punishment can easily escalate and cross the line to abuse and serious injury, especially when an instruments (such as belts, extension cords, and tree branches) are used.
Physical discipline can also cause children to become emotionally alienated from a parent who delivers the punishment.
Don’t get me wrong, I do feel that physical discipline is an effective method of teaching children morals and ethics and as the mother of an 8 month old baby boy, I will eventually have to decide on a method of discipline.
I will likely mimic my parent’s method when disciplining my son. My parents always made sure that we knew why we were being disciplined and taught us acceptable behavior.
I will not exclusively use physical discipline as a way to teach my son because every situation does not require physical discipline.
Another aspect of parenting that I will mimic from my parents is to only spank my son on his behind.
I believe that the type of physical discipline used by my parents was effective because the love that my parents gave us never made us question their motives.
I also support physical discipline because of religious influences. According to the Bible, appropriate and restrained physical discipline of children is a good thing and contributes to the well-being and correct upbringing of the child:
“Do not withhold discipline from a child; if you strike him with a rod, he will not die. You will save his soul.” (Proverbs 23 13-14).
