No person should ever be put in physical pain for a wrong doing. This statement applies specifically to children. There is not a lesson out there that can be taught more effectively by injuring a child than by a verbal explanation. Corporal punishment is a barbaric institution that does nothing more than put fear in the hearts of children and teach them that when someone does something wrong, that person deserves to be put in pain - this is the wrong lesson to be teaching our youths.

To punish is to impose a penalty on for a fault, offense, or violation. To spank is to strike, especially on the buttocks with the open hand. The term corporal punishment is sometimes used to describe physical discipline—such as slapping or spanking—given to some children by parents or schoolteachers (Merriam-Webster). Corporal punishment can be a very sensitive subject for many people. Many parents today are against such types of corporal punishment as spanking; saying that it is a form of child abuse. The question of if it is acceptable or even legal has plagued parents for quite some time. There is about an equal number of doctors, psychologist and other experts that will argue that corporal punishment, such as spanking, can or can not be harmful to children.

Those who oppose corporal punishment feel that the same results one gets from spanking can be achieved with a more human approach. One argument against spanking is that it increases violence. Nadine Block, Executive Director of the Center for Effective Discipline, an anti-corporal punishment organization, put forward research showing that children who are spanked display aggressive and other antisocial behaviors (Block). In Sweden the government outlawed corporal punishment in 1979 and operated an extensive education program to wean parents away from corporal punishment. Rates of child abuse have lowered since Sweden's banning of corporal punishment (Kim). The other side of the argument is that it isn’t effective and can cause harm to the child. While most people can agree that long term physical abuse to a child is wrong and harmful, many feel that even the occasional spanking or swat on the bottom can have both long term physical and psychological consequences. According to author Henny H. Kim when a parent spanks his or her child it means that he/she is not dealing with the behavior in such a way that would lead to a more permanent change (Kim). Infrequent and moderate spanking in childhood can have deleterious effects in adult life, including a greater likelihood of depression and other psychological problems (Block).

Between 1980 and 2000, the number of students struck in US public schools declined from 1.4 million to 342,000, according to analysis by the Center for Effective Discipline of data from the US Department of Education (Teicher). 99 per cent of American parents spanked or used some form of corporal punishment in 1950… survey figures say that 70 to 90 per cent of parents now spank (Chigbo). 40 or 50 years ago most people wouldn’t have given a second look at a child or student who received a spanking or a “paddling” at school or in public. It was a more common and accepted practice of punishment for children then.

The last time the Supreme Court made a decision on corporal punishment was in Ingraham v. Wright, the 1977 landmark case that involved junior high school students in Dade County, Florida, who challenged the district’s corporal punishment policy. Fourteen-year-old James Ingraham was an eighth grader attending Drew Junior High School in Dade County, Florida. On October 6, 1970, a number of students, including James, were slow in leaving the stage of the school auditorium when asked to do so by a teacher. The school principal, Willie J. Wright, Jr., took James and the other students to his office to be paddled. When James protested, claiming his innocence, Lemmie Deliford, the assistant principal, and Solomon Barnes, an assistant to the principal, were called in. He then received 20 swats while being held down by his arms and legs by Deliford and Barnes. James then went home and examined his injuries. According to James, his backside was "black and purple and it was tight and hot." He was "ashamed" to show the injuries to his mother, and when he did she became hysterical and started "screaming and hollering." She then took him to a local hospital where the examining doctor diagnosed the cause of James's pain to be a hematoma, she said “The area of pain was tender and large in size, and... the temperature of the skin area of the hematoma was above normal which is a sign of inflammation often associated with hematoma." The doctor prescribed pain pills, a laxative, sleep pills and ice packs, and advised James to stay at home for at least a week. A different doctor examined James on October 9 when he returned to the hospital for treatment, and again on October 14. This doctor found a hematoma approximately six inches in diameter which was swollen, tender, and purplish in color. Additionally, there was seriousness or fluid oozing from the hematoma. On October 14, eight days after the paddling, this doctor indicated that James should rest at home for the next 72 hours. James testified that it was painful even to lie on his back in the days following the paddling, and that he could not sit comfortably for about three weeks. He and his parents sued the school, calling it cruel and unusual punishment.

The Supreme Court ruled that the Eighth Amendment prohibition against “cruel and unusual punishment” was confined to criminals and could not be applied to school disciplinary actions. While labeling the paddling as “exceptionally harsh,” the court determined that the Eighth Amendment is irrelevant in school circumstances. The Court also held that the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution does not require notification of charges and an informal hearing prior to the infliction of corporal punishment. This left the states to decide for themselves whether or not to ban corporal punishment in schools. The Florida statute then in effect authorized corporal punishment after the teacher had consulted with the principal specifying that the punishment was not to be "degrading or unduly severe."

Twenty-seven states and the District of Columbia have outlawed corporal punishment in public schools, all in the past 40 years. There are 106 countries--including many places where it was common only a generation ago--which have put a stop to corporal punishment in schools. Only 23 countries (18 of them European) have banned corporal punishment completely (Economist). Twenty-one U.S. states permit corporal punishment, with spankings most prevalent in Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, and Arkansas. Twenty-seven states and the District of Columbia have outlawed corporal punishment in public schools, all in the past 40 years.

Between 1980 and 2000, the number of students struck in US public schools declined from 1.4 million to 342,000, according to analysis by the Center for Effective Discipline of data from the US Department of Education (Teicher). 99 per cent of American parents spanked or used some form of corporal punishment in 1950… survey figures say that 70 to 90 per cent of parents now spank (Chigbo). 40 or 50 years ago most people wouldn’t have given a second look at a child or student who received a spanking or a “paddling” at school or in public. It was a more common and accepted practice of punishment for children then.

A report released by the Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union claims that more than 200,000 kids were "spanked" or "paddled" during the 2006-07 school year. (Economist). The National Coalition to Abolish Corporal Punishment in Schools reports, Bruises, injuries and even broke bones do occur (Kim). According to the National Parent Teacher Association (PTA), there are numerous alternatives to corporal punishment that have proven to be effective (Shute). The best way of dealing with school misbehavior is by preventing it. Schools with good discipline not only correct misbehavior but also teach appropriate behavior and coping skills. Diana Baumrind, a psychologist at the University of California-Berkeley says regular reliance on physical punishment, as well as "impulsive and reactive spanking," causes harm to a child (Shute). Instead of pretending there is no real harm in swatting a child's bottom, society should look for effective alternatives in influencing a child's development.

Many parents don’t feel comfortable using a physical form of punishment on their children. As times change so do the ways that we handle the behavioral issues of children and the type of punishment that they should receive. Such a positive stance against the still-accepted family practice of spanking should be adopted by more societies in the interest of protecting children. Children deserve to be taught the valuable skills of solving problems constructively without resorting to physical violence.