Discipline and Violence, Research Paper Example

Child Abuse: A Common yet Specifically Indefinite case between Discipline and Violence

Introduction

When parents are handed with their new infant, the joy is almost incomparable. It feels like being handed something that is beyond amazing. During the first few months of the child in their care, parents are overwhelmed with the desire to provide everything the child needs. However, for many households, this charm that children have while they are still babies gradually wear-off through time. As the infant grows into becoming a toddler, it is most often than not that parents begin to see the real essence of being a mentor to their child[1]. Most likely, it could be realized that the toddler years become specifically demanding especially when it comes to dealing with tantrums and other behavioral display of supposed rebellion, which is rather common among children undergoing the said stage. Such stage is such a confusing yet determinable phase in a young one’s life[2]. Understandably, such points of twists and turns in relation to the development of a young person run through towards the teen years and sometimes even beyond.

This is the reason why parents are required to have the capacity to accept such changes as mere part of life; a distinct series of phases that would demand from them both time and effort in making sure that they guide their children into developing the right attitude they need to be able to survive life accordingly. To do so, they need to have the patience, the right amount of self-control and determination to assist and not to control their children. This is probably the hardest part of the process of being a parent to a child. It could not be denied that there are instances by which the chances of development among children become subjected to difficult times that parents often find it hard to deal with nor understand. As for a fact, there are instances when parents view capita; punishment [spanking] as one of the most effective ways to immediately deal with the situation that their children are involved with. IN the discussion that follows, the thin line that separates discipline from violence shall be given specific attention to.

The Impending Problem

 According to statistics, the case of child abuse in the United States is expected to increase at a .05% each year[3]. This accounts to at least more than a thousand more of the young individuals in the country experiencing violence from adults [most of the time involving immediate family members] each year. The emergence of the problem seems to get the attention of the child psychologists and other developmental experts as they try to hone the capacity of the young ones to take on the challenge of becoming the heirs of the future of the society. With more problematic children entering the new era of development, it is expected that the value for humanity would be much lowered and the consistent attention towards morals and protection of human rights would become weaker through time.

According to studies, the term ‘spare the rod and spoil the child‘ continues[4] to echo among parents at present. Relatively though, the wrong implication of such form of discipline results to more dreadful than the expected proper results of direction from parents. Children who become accustomed to such treatment every time they make mistakes are seemingly developing a rather tolerant view about violence. Although some disciplinarian movements try to oppose such view, they could not deny the fact that when parents try to reprimand their children according to such punishment, there are instances when they lose sight of what they are doing and pass on through the limit from discipline towards extreme violence among their children.

Lovingly disciplining a child does not mean never laying a hand on them when it is necessary. Nevertheless, when it comes to laying a hand on a child, parents are directed to not be consumed by their anger. In short, parents are directed to become more rational than emotional when implicating such punishment. What constitutes rationality when it comes to dealing with such matters? First and foremost, parents need to know why they are implicating the punishment. It should be provided with all the warnings and preliminary discussions necessary to have been handled accordingly through constant conversation with the child. The punishment in itself does not need to be based on the idea of implicating pain, instead on the process of reminding the child not to do the same mistake again.

There are however, some instances, when parents lose their temper and just implicate the punishment as means of letting their emotions out. One case of such occurrence could be noted to have been featured in several social networks lately and later on was aired in several news networks in the United Sates [gaining negative reactions from major child protection groups in the country and abroad. The video could be seen in the website of CNN justice at http://www.hlntv.com/video/2014/04/09/demitria-powell-son-beaten-facebook-video?hpt=ju_r1. Observably, the idea of putting the video on a social network even increase the idea of whether or not the parents [in this case the mother] actually know what they are doing and why they are doing it for. The idea of discipline is gone and the sadistic way of dealing with the child becomes an evident course of living for the child. Like the young boy in the video, several others in the society [not only in the United States], some even younger than he is experience extreme treatment from their parents, their teachers and other individuals surrounding them[5]. With the idea of supposedly teaching them, these individuals become accustomed to the process of hitting a child that the real worth of what is supposedly a disciplinary act becomes lost in the process.

The Issues of Confusion

According to the Federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act or the CAPTA (2010), the definition of child abuse and child neglect all fall under the process by which the actions of the older individuals result to serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse, exploitation or even death[6]. In a shorter version, the same act also assumes violence against children to be any particular act taken against a child that puts him/her in risk or serious harm. The term ‘child’ specifically refers to any individual younger than 18 and is considered vulnerable by the law[7]. Their incapacity to stand for themselves or defend themselves from oppressors make them the victims that need protection in such situations that render them in the middle of constant violent reactions from people surrounding them.

Observably, the weakness of this particular law is that it does not go into specifying the different issues related to the emergence of child abuse which includes physical abuse most such as spanking. This is also noted as corporal punishment which major areas in the world has already outlawed; however, it could not be denied that such consideration cannot be given specific control especially in the instance by which parents cannot be given specific attention to. When it comes to dealing with the situation of the families inside the home, a lot of matters could already occur. Children are often told that they are being cared for, that the punishments are supposed to bring them into a better sense of determining their worth as human individuals[8]. They are often told that they are being given such punishment to specifically keep them on the right track; hence, as they are told about such considerations, they are often expected to keep control of themselves especially when it comes to telling others about the situation that they are undergoing.

Most often than not, it could be realized that it is because of this control on the children that they become more accustomed to keeping everything behind closed doors. Realizing that they are just being directed towards the right path, the cases they get involved with do not get reported.  It could be understood that with these situations occurring, it could be realized that several hundreds if not thousands of case do not get reported every year[9]. Practically, without children understanding the reality of their situation, they become accustomed to such situations on the basis by which they are able to tolerate the violence, hence, when they are being punished, they simply accept everything as rather normal. Practically, Human Rights Committees and United Nations have already tried to create a distinct impact on how modern developments of familial arrangements could actually be given attention to. Considering the different situations and cultures of different nations and different families, it is often hard to insist on one common process of discipline that children are supposed to be subjected to.

What else needs to be done?

As noted earlier, parents often find themselves without a choice especially when it comes to determining the way they need to discipline their children. While the law specifically provides a distinct guideline when it comes to determining the ways by which children are supposed to be treated, it cannot fully determine the ways by which people would try to realize the law and its implication on their situation. Most often than not, it could be realized that it is with the desire of the community to actually preserve the lives and values of the children that could help the entire process of implementing the law to become more effective in determining the condition by which the children and their rights are given specific attention to. Notably, increasing the campaign towards developing a more specific process of educating people, the parents in particular, on how they should be able to deal with child tantrums and behavioral development. Most likely, it is because of this that the concept of development based on a communal scope would intend to manifest a more determined process by which the children and their rights are to be given specific attention to[10].

Conclusion

The constant determination of the community to provide the needed attention of the more vulnerable members of the society is the key towards increasing the chances by which modern families would be able to protect each others’ rights especially that of the children. As the parents are taught with the proper skills that they need to deal with their children’s tantrums and the proper understanding that are necessary for them to take on the challenge of understanding the different phases of development their children incur through the years, it is expected that the instances by which child abuse occurs at home would be reduced.

In this case, it could be noted that dealing with the problem based on a root-defined resolution could help in determining the most probable source of trustworthy resolution that the children could trust. Not only should the government demand from the parents and other guardians who are attending to the young members of the society, it should also provide them with the aid they need to become more competent in responding to the responsibilities they are expected to accomplish. Through this approach, the cooperation among the major individuals and agencies expected to protect the rights of the children from abusive treatments would be able to accomplish more relative victories in determining the process by which cases of child abuse would be further lessened. The practical manner by which the community comes together to resolve a particular problem is expected to develop more dependable source of trustworthy future for the more vulnerable members of the community.

Works Cited

Carlson, V. et al. (1995). “Finding order in disorganization: Lessons from research on maltreated infants’ attachments to their caregivers”. In Cicchetti, D.; Carlson, V. Child Maltreatment: Theory and research on the causes and consequences of child abuse and neglect. Cambridge University Press. pp. 135–157.

CNN Justice. Mom beats child with belt, posts online. http://www.hlntv.com/video/2014/04/09/demitria-powell-son-beaten-facebook-video?hpt=ju_r1. (Retrieved on April 16, 2014).

Child Help US. National Child Abuse Statistics. http://www.childhelp.org/pages/statistics. (Retrieved on April 16, 2014).

US Department of Health and Human Services. Definitions of Child Abuse and Neglect in Federal Law. https://www.childwelfare.gov/can/defining/federal.cfm. (Retrieved on April 16, 2014).

Beatty, Jeffrey and Samuelson,, Susan Legal Environment, (Thomson South-Western West 2005),

[1] Carlson, V. et al. (1995). “Finding order in disorganization: Lessons from research on maltreated infants’ attachments to their caregivers”. In Cicchetti, D.; Carlson, V. Child Maltreatment: Theory and research on the causes and consequences of child abuse and neglect. Cambridge University Press. pp. 135–157.

[2] US Department of Health and Human Services. Definitions of Child Abuse and Neglect in Federal Law. https://www.childwelfare.gov/can/defining/federal.cfm. (Retrieved on April 16, 2014).

[3] US Department of Health and Human Services. Definitions of Child Abuse and Neglect in Federal Law. https://www.childwelfare.gov/can/defining/federal.cfm. (Retrieved on April 16, 2014).

[4] Carlson, V. et al. (1995). “Finding order in disorganization: Lessons from research on maltreated infants’ attachments to their caregivers”. In Cicchetti, D.; Carlson, V. Child Maltreatment: Theory and research on the causes and consequences of child abuse and neglect. Cambridge University Press. pp. 135–157.

[5] Carlson, V. et al. (1995). “Finding order in disorganization: Lessons from research on maltreated infants’ attachments to their caregivers”. In Cicchetti, D.; Carlson, V. Child Maltreatment: Theory and research on the causes and consequences of child abuse and neglect. Cambridge University Press. pp. 135–157.

[6] Beatty, Jeffrey and Samuelson,, Susan Legal Environment, (Thomson South-Western West 2005),

[7] Beatty, Jeffrey and Samuelson,, Susan Legal Environment, (Thomson South-Western West 2005),

[8] Carlson, V. et al. (1995). “Finding order in disorganization: Lessons from research on maltreated infants’ attachments to their caregivers”. In Cicchetti, D.; Carlson, V. Child Maltreatment: Theory and research on the causes and consequences of child abuse and neglect. Cambridge University Press. pp. 135–157.

[9] Beatty, Jeffrey and Samuelson,, Susan Legal Environment, (Thomson South-Western West 2005),

[10] Carlson, V. et al. (1995). “Finding order in disorganization: Lessons from research on maltreated infants’ attachments to their caregivers”. In Cicchetti, D.; Carlson, V. Child Maltreatment: Theory and research on the causes and consequences of child abuse and neglect. Cambridge University Press. pp. 135–157.