TO SPANK OR NOT TO SPANK?

Spanking is an act of hitting a child with an open hand without causing or inflicting physical injury. Some parents or guardians usually go beyond the use of an open hand by using objects such as, belt, stick, cane, ruler, etc. The ultimate motive of spanking a child is to discipline, correct, teach, direct, guide, above all to modify inappropriate behaviour.

 However, studies have shown that spanking has negative effects on a child's mental health. Although majority of parents who use spanking as a disciplinary measure on their wards don't mean to cause their children any harm, but psychologists have discovered that spanking is not a perfect solution in the training of a child.  It create fear in them, which may automatically yield "immediate" or "on the spot" result by way of behaviour modification; that does not make it an effective method. It is not an effective method because, children who are often spanked develop into aggressive and violent adults. They tend to imbibe the wrong notion that the only acceptable method of solving problems is through the use of physical force. Should your child fear you? The relationship between you and your child should be friendly and not a fearful one. When you create fear in your child, he/she is highly prone to develop low self-esteem, depression and/or low self-worth. Using fear to modify or motivate a child's behaviour will shut down his/her "thinking brain" making her switch into a "fight or flight" mode.

Although, it is very hard to do away with spanking in our clime as a method of parenting because of our spiritual inclinations. Most parents are already opposing this as they read, they are always fast to quote the bible...."spare the rod and spoil the child". Do you know that that rod mentioned in the bible does not always equate cane? Disciplining a child is not the same as beating out the day light out of a child. Discipline goes together with love, so in disciplining your child, do it in love.
There are other effective methods that you can adopt as a parent or guardian to instill discipline, good morals and acceptable values into your child, outside spanking. "Time out", "removal of privileges",  "reinforcement of approriate behaviour", amongst other are alternative channels that can be employed in bringing up your child to develop into a loving, respectful and confident adult, rather than growing to be an aggressive, disrespectful, insecure and violent adult.
It is a known fact that many parents/guardians can not completely do without spanking, it is worthy of note that while some children respond to spanking favourably,  other do not, instead of it yielding the desired result: positive change in behaviour, it hardens them. If you are one of the parents that fall within this category, do not spank a child that is less than 24 months old.
 In everything you do, always remember to show unconditional love to your children even in your disciplinary measures; love is the crux of any relationship.