In the past, caning has been the default for parents in disciplining their children. However, in today’s world, an increasing number of parents have embraced an alternative approach, in which they spare the rod, and instead speak to their children in a calm manner when they misbehave. While some would say that this approach would lead to a generation of spoilt brats, I would beg to differ. In my opinion, sparing the rod does not necessarily spoil the child, as long as parents apply the suitable approaches to discipline their children. In fact, compared to physical punishment, such methods of disciplining children. In fact, compared to physical punishment, such methods of disciplining children could be more effective.
To start off, I believe that the best environment for a child’s growth is a caring and loving one. When parents choose violence over other methods to discipline their child, they are depriving their child of such an environment. This could negatively impact the child’s emotional and physical well-being, and affect the relationship between the parent and child. Sometimes, a child can be caned without understanding what he or she has done wrong, and this could lead them to experience feelings of confusion or frustration with their parents. For instance, my friend’s father was once caned by his parents for not displaying proper dining etiquette when dining with his uncle. He had not been taught table manners, and was clueless as to why he was being punished. This affected his relationship with his parents for some time, although it has since been resolved. This shows that caning is not always the best way to educate a child, as it could be detrimental towards the relationship between family members and the child’s well being.
While physical punishment may not always work, I believe that parents can adopt different approaches to discipline their children. For example, parents could praise their children for their good behaviour, and calmly explain what they did wrong, and how they could avoid it in the future. This would allow the children to have a clearer understanding of their mistake and prevent making the same mistake again. My father has always believed in this form of discipline, as he has benefitted from it as a child. Whenever he made a mistake, my grandparents would always speak to him in a patient manner, and make him realise what he did was wrong. They would then provide him with suggestions on how to make up for his mistake. This caused him to apply the same approach when disciplining me and my older brother, and I feel privileged to be spared from the beatings and canings that others experience. This method of disciplining, while preventing the harmful impacts that caning would cause, is also effective in developing mischievous children into mature adults.
However, for parents who do not resort to physical means of punishment, it is important for them to discipline their children, should they make a mistake. With more and more parents unwilling to discipline their children, it has become common to see children running in crowded areas with elderly people, screaming in restaurants where people just want to dine in peace, and committing dangerous acts on fast-moving trains. Parents of such children often do not discipline their children in such instances, and do not allow other concerned members of the public to do so either. This would force people to forgive these nuisances, while these undisciplined children develop into immature adults. Hence, it is important that action be taken when children commit misdeeds.
To sum up, while I do not believe that sparing the rod will spoil the child, I agree that parents need to discipline their children to prevent the future generation from becoming a bunch of spoilt kids. Parents should refrain from using punitive approaches to discipline their children, but instead adopt a calmer and more patient approach.
Comments