What To Respond To Those Who See It Necessary To Hit The Children?

How to respond to those who see it necessary to hit the children How to justify why you do not agree with physical punishment? Conversations often lend themselves to sharing ideas about early childhood education and parenting methods. Before those parents or relatives who think that hitting is the best option to educate, we must know how to answer why we do not agree.

The truth is that, if we choose violence, we will always be on the wrong path.

A great lesson that you can leave your children is that violent behavior should not be justified under any circumstances.

Self-control and good arguments are the most effective means to avoid conflict and give a real solution to problems. It is not necessary to mistreat the other to prove ourselves.

Stop for a moment to think about it. Are you better if you hit someone? The answer is no. Nor will you EVER be. Anyone who preaches otherwise only shows a vulnerability and insecurity so great as to have to resort to brute force, that resource so primitive and unintelligent.

On  many occasions you have heard another parent talk about how “effective” it is to spank or pinch their children. As shocking as it may seem, many times when we compare ourselves with other parents we can end up imitating their violence and developing it in our own home, believing that this way we gain more respect and impose more discipline on our children.

The following are some important reasons you can appeal if you disagree with the use of corporal punishment.

Consequences of physical punishment of children

• Deficiencies in emotional development.
  A child who receives severe physical and emotional punishment leads to low self-esteem, inattention, difficulties in relating in society, anxiety and depression.
• Approval of physical abuse as a model of interaction.
  Violent behaviors tend to recur. This is why a child who has been physically abused is more likely to become a perpetrator of abuse against other people.
• Irritability and aggressiveness levels increase.
  Children are not of an age to distinguish the difference between the unacceptable behavior that the father seeks to repress and the violent environment with which he does it. In the short term, this contradiction becomes a trigger for aggressiveness.

• Corporal punishment undermines the process of development of ethics and values.
  When a father demands his children behave appropriately, obey and interact in a healthy way and at the same time punishes them bodily, he is causing an internal conflict in the child.

On the one hand, he is judged for unacceptable behavior and on the other, the punishment used is even less acceptable.

How to respond to those who see it necessary to hit the children

• Hitting your children is not behavior that sets a good example. When they hit you, you learn to hit, especially if you are young and do not yet know many social commands that need to be fulfilled.

• Children tend to imitate the behaviors of the people they love and respect. They assimilate that what you do is the right thing to do. It is likely that the behaviors you have, are the ones that they will use with other children, and in the future, with other people, including their own children.
• Hitting does not correct inappropriate behavior. In many cases the behaviors that a parent disapproves of become recurrent when there is abuse. A child who receives negative physical feedback feels bad inside and reflects it by acting in a more reprehensible way.
• Violent physical interaction promotes anger in children and parents. Although children appear to act as expected after physical punishment, the negative emotions within them turn into a time bomb. In a moment of excessive anger, it is possible that the father exceeds the physical force that directs his son and this is something that is recorded in his memory emotional.

In summary

1. Physical punishment detracts from the child. The self-image in a child is generated from how he feels that others perceive him. As much as you try to make your child feel that you love him, if you hit him you are sending a confusing message. Slapping, squeezing and pinching make children feel that they are weak and defenseless, that anyone can violate them.
2. Physical punishment detracts from the father. Physical punishment deteriorates the father’s relationship with his children. It puts a great distance between each other because it generates very strong emotional barriers and tensions when communicating.