Punishment Can Harm A Child’s Psyche

Child Punishment Research has established that far from correcting the child, physical punishment can do lasting harm.

First of all, by physically punishing a small child, we are not teaching him to be sorry for what he has done, all he is doing is just learning to be afraid of our anger.
The child mat well grow up either fearful where he is always afraid of doing something wrong or he may become sly where he learns to hide what he is doing from us.
Children who incur excessive physical punishment often end up becoming stubborn. Instead of learning a lesson and not repeating a naughty act, they just learn to endure the pain and continue doing what they want.
By physically punishing a child, we are sending the message that might is right. They will grow up believing that it is alright to hurt people they are smaller and weaker.
Since the child cannot retaliate, he may end up harbouring anger, fear and resentment against the parents which may express themselves in other ways.
By giving way to our temper, we are only making our lack of self-control more evident. Apart from this, our aggression and anger can cause deep rooted insecurity in the child. This can lead to life long complexes.
What one should do is to rein in one’s temper. Tell the child what he was done wrong. Be sure to enforce the message that it is not the child that is at fault but his behavior. If at all the child needs to be disciplined, there are other ways of doing it.
Take a positive approach to help the child develop self-discipline which will eventually do away with the needs for punishment altogether (physical or otherwise).