For most of my life, I always thought corporal punishment applied to a misbehaving child would do the child good in the long run.
Of course years have gone by, and I am now the parent of a very young child, and I no longer feel this way.
That is not to say I automatically condemn corporal punishment. I got heaps of it when I was a child (mostly when explaing grades to my father), and I don't think it did me a shred of good at all. Conversely, I hardly suppose as an adult, that I have any deep-seated inscurities, fears or whatever other post-traumatic things associated with traumatic things!
Some parents may find it works for them, and some don't, although I suspect the latter case is more common.
I agree completely with Utopia. Even headedness and consistency is the key to disciplining a child, whether or not the cane is used.
I suspect that applying the cane is mostly useless because of the conflicting signals it sends the children when many parents do so. The child is caned, and right after that taken to a shopping mall and rewarded with a brand new toy. The child is caned is poor behaviour, but that very same evening sees his caregiver scream at the family maid for some minor transgression.
As for why 'kids are getting away with murder, literally, all in the name of protecting the child' in countries like Australia, I do think that the entire system, social, judicial, economic is too forgiving on juvenile offenders because they are 'young'.
But of course, any kind of social order and organization does not develop independently without the input of the indivudals who comprise it.
Why has the system become so much more lax? I would think it has a lot to do with how people in the West have seen their personal wealth increase over the few decades, with more free time to enjoy life and not needing to work to as hard as their fathers and mothers before them.
Naturally, people adopt a less harsh tone towards issues of many sorts and misbehaviours of many kinds. Grandparents who once had to work hard well into their greying years are now much more wont to spending time and money pampering and protecting their grandkids.
And also, I am sure the fact that couples are having far fewer children everywhere in wealthier countries automatically results in them pampering more what children they have. That children who once had to be adults by say 12 are now allowed to grow up only when they turn 50 or so.
It is the natural order of things. Disciplinary standards in Singapore are going the same way, as compared to the time I was growing up. A time when there was no such thing as domestic helpers, where only the wealthiest kids could afford enrichment classes becaus ethey cost a then-princely sum of S$14 an hour.
And a time whenever a child was misreported for misbehaviour, would get additional punishment of some sort from the parents before the parents did their fact finding. Hmm, maybe that's not such a bad thing if it helps keep chjildren in line.
Nowadays it has become 'my child is an angel and would never do such a thing'. Perhaps the second part is true, but the first, well almost impossible. I don't know any children who are angels, and I would be worried about his or her development if I saw one.
Anyway, I have decided with my wife that we will not be using corporal punishment on our boy because we agree that putting on a united front is key, and consistency can be applied without the use of force, so why use force?
And while I can't agree with TennoHekka's singular view on corporal punishment, I must admit that alot of it, from observation, is in fact the parent venting their frustrations on the most helpless victim.
Ahh, but coming to two, he is just sooo naughty!
