N6 Educational Psychology 2 Problems with spanking children


While spanking supporters say the method works well, the reality is that all it teaches the child is to behave and “be good” – not necessarily to understand why they should conduct themselves in a certain way.


For example, if a child moves to touch a hot stove and is spanked, the child will most likely learn not to touch the stove anymore. However, what they won’t learn is why they shouldn’t touch a stove. When a child is spanked in that situation, a teaching opportunity is lost – a chance to review kitchen safety. Spanking puts a stop to a behaviour but it doesn’t encourage a child to make decisions or wonder why a certain decision isn’t a good one.


Spanking also models aggressive behaviour. Even though the child is being hit in the context of being disciplined, it is still happening while the grown-up is angry, so it demonstrates to a young child that it’s OK to hit someone when you are mad. As a parent, you are your child’s best role model. Even if you tell your child that they shouldn’t hit someone, by hitting your child you are demonstrating that that action is acceptable.


It’s also important to consider that, as a child gets older, they are likely to get angry at their parent for spanking them. Instead of thinking about what they have done to receive a spanking, the child focuses on the punishment, rather than what they are being punished for.


3 Alternatives to spanking


The key to disciplining a child isn’t just to get them to stop doing something (although that is certainly important). Discipline should also be viewed as a learning opportunity – a chance for a child to learn from her mistakes while developing good decision-making skills that she can utilise in the future.


Activity 2.3 To read and discuss:


The law in South Africa and corporal punishment The following extract is from a paper on Children’s Law by Faranaaz Veriava, in January 2014.


“The prohibition against corporal punishment is an integral part of the broader transformation of South African education. The prohibition seeks to replace South Africa’s violent and authoritarian past with an ethos respectful of human dignity and bodily integrity.


The legal framework encapsulated primarily in the South African Schools Act 84 of 1996 and its subsidiary legislation establishes a ‘coherent and principled system of discipline’.


This system includes a prohibition against corporal punishment. It also includes the requirement that school governing bodies (SGBs) develop codes of conduct at schools through participatory processes. These codes prescribe the rules of a school that learners must adhere to. The codes also establish disciplinary processes where learners have transgressed rules. The prohibition against corporal punishment is entrenched at both a national and a provincial level in South Africa.


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