The issue of child disciplining, particularly, the choice of respective methods and the evaluation of their efficacy, have been the source of multiple debates for decades. Though presently, the negative outcomes of using corporal punishments when disciplining children have been scientifically proven, a significant number of parents still practice the specified approach as the means of keeping children compliant. The case under analysis features a family of a mother, a father, a daughter, and a son, who has been showing a clear propensity toward disruptive behavior.
Specifically, in the case under analysis, Danny, the boy, has been demonstrating the tendency to misbehave in class, get involved in fights with fellow students, and use profanity in his speech. Furthermore, Danny has been subjected to corporal punishment by his father, Jack, which has made Danny fear taking responsibility for his actions and has locked him in the loop of perpetual misbehaving and seeking to avoid the punishment. The case establishes that the mother’s weak attempts at reducing the harshness of the punishment have not yielded any effects. Given the presence of a younger sibling, the described situation may lead to potentially unhealthy relationship dynamics within the family, which is why parental counseling must be advised as the means of introducing the parents, particularly, the father, to a different disciplining strategy that does not involve corporal punishment, explaining the negative implications of the latter.
Introducing healthier options for parents to use when raising and disciplining their children remains a vital area of concern for social services. As the case under analysis indicates, the presence of violence in child-rearing strategies inevitably results in children responding by developing unhealthy coping mechanisms and major emotional trauma. Indeed, multiple studies prove that the use of corporal punishments and physical violence in child upbringing causes children to develop unhealthy and even antisocial behaviors, particularly, inducing violence and aggression in children (Al-Saadoon et al., 2021). Chong and Yeo (2018) warn that the outcomes of corporal punishments in children are likely to percolate into their further adult life, causing the victims of parental abuse to fail to adjust psychologically to social interactions. Therefore, there is a strong incentive to explore the factors that are likely to inhibit Danny’s father’s ability to change his approach toward Danny’s upbringing.
In turn, the focus on culture and socioeconomic factors as the main force behind the child-rearing choices of parents of adolescent boys is largely justified by the multitude of factors affecting parents’ choices on the socioeconomic and cultural levels. Klevens et al.’s (2019) research asserts that sociocultural factors, particularly, the presence of gender stereotypes and specific values associated with the concept of social norms determine parents’ propensity toward using corporal punishments as the means of affecting the behaviors of their sons. The research results offered by Klevens et al. (2019) confirm the necessity to examine the problem of parents resorting to violence and corporal punishments in their treatment of their children from the cultural perspective. Namely, the author points out that the persistence of certain stereotypes within a range of cultures, particularly, gender-related misconceptions, may make parents inclined to believe that a harsher way of parenting is a more appropriate manner for raising boys. Thus, the threat of parental violence becomes particularly high for the specified demographic due to cultural stereotypes, which is worth researching.
Additionally, the socioeconomic angle is worth integrating into the analysis due to the impact that parents’ socioeconomic status has on the accessibility of resources for educating themselves about child upbringing. Specifically, the study by Finkelhor et al. (2019) outlines the significance of the accessibility of learning opportunities for parents from challenging socioeconomic backgrounds on their choice of upbringing strategies. Particularly, the research indicates that complications in managing financial resources imply the lack of opportunities for accessing and studying the resources needed to change the existing child-rearing approach and acknowledge the problems of the corporal punishment concept. Ain addition to economic constraints, social factors, including the presence of social pressure and the established social norms that parents need to overcome in order to build a healthy child-rearing approach, should eb examined. Therefore, the research question is justified and worthy of further exploration, with a particular focus on cultural and socioeconomic constraints preventing parents, particularly, fathers, from adjusting their child-rearing approaches.
By introducing a therapy-based strategy geared toward changing the parents’ perspective on child-rearing, particularly, on shaping the father’s idea of disciplining his son, one will be able to address the scenario in question properly. Therefore, it is vital to explore the factors that affect parents’ choice of strategies and methods for child upbringing. By focusing on the specified issue, one will be able to define the core factors that may help shape parenting strategies accordingly and introduce corrections to the methods that should be deemed as inappropriate. Specifically, methods of changing the minds of parents that resort to corporal punishments in their selection of upbringing approaches will be isolated and developed into an overarching program for promoting effective and healthy upbringing approaches can be designed.
References
Chong, C. H., & Yeo, K. J. (2018). The residue effects of parental corporal punishment on young adults’ psychological adjustment: Evidence from Malaysia.SAGE Open, 8(1), pp. 1-11. Web.
Finkelhor, D., Turner, H., Wormuth, B. K., Vanderminden, J., & Hamby, S. (2019). Corporal punishment: Current rates from a national survey.Journal of Child and Family Studies, 28(7), 1991-1997. Web.
Klevens, J., Mercer Kollar, L., Rizzo, G., O’Shea, G., Nguyen, J., & Roby, S. (2019). Commonalities and differences in social norms related to corporal punishment among Black, Latino and White parents.Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 36(1), 19-28. Web.
Al-Saadoon, M., Al-Adawi, M., & Al-Adawi, S. (2021). Socio-cultural constraints in protecting child rights in a society in transition: A review and synthesis from Oman.Child Indicators Research, 14(1), 239-267. Web.