Question

debate on spare the rod and spoil the child

Answer 1

For over a couple of months now, there has been a debate with regards to the banning of corporal punishment. There are two distinct contrasting sides to the debate. On one side, there are the courts and human rights advocates while on the other side there are churches and educators. However, there are some who are sitting on the fence. They literally blow hot and cold.

Sunday Debate with David Penson Palasida

The courts and human rights activists are basing their argument on Sections 51, 52, 53 and 81(1)(e) of the Constitution.

When we talk of corporal punishment, what automatically comes to mind is the beating of children either at school or at home and this, in a way, has clouded the whole discourse of corporal punishment. In as much as I would want to centre my discussion on the corporal punishment of children, I will venture into the topic from a broader point of view that will also include adults.






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Child discipline
Child discipline is the methods used to prevent future behavioral problems in children. The word discipline is defined as imparting knowledge and skill, in other words, to teach.[1] In its most general sense, discipline refers to systematic instruction given to a disciple. To discipline means to instruct a person to follow a particular code of conduct.[2]

Discipline is used by parents to teach their children about expectations, guidelines and principles. Children need to be given regular discipline to be taught right from wrong and to be maintained safe. Child discipline can involve rewards and punishments to teach self-control, increase desirable behaviors and decrease undesirable behaviors.[3] While the purpose of child discipline is to develop and entrench desirable social habits in children, the ultimate goal is to foster sound judgement and morals so the child develops and maintains self-discipline throughout the rest of his/her life.

Because the values, beliefs, education, customs and cultures of people vary so widely, along with the age and temperament of the child, methods of child discipline vary widely. Child discipline is a topic that draws from a wide range of interested fields, such as parenting, the professional practice of behavior analysis, developmental psychology, social work, and various religious perspectives. In recent years, advances in the understanding of attachment parenting have provided a new background of theoretical understanding and advanced clinical and practical understanding of the effectiveness and outcome of parenting methods.

In Western society, there has been debate in recent years over the use of corporal punishment for children in general, and increased attention to the concept