Physical Punishment Of The Baby And Its Effects

The consequences of physical punishment for the baby are very negative. If this is applied to children under two years of age, the consequences will be more severe. Physical punishment of a baby is classified as child abuse.

However, there will be no lack of fathers and mothers, including supposed specialists in rearing, who will consider it normal to give a little spanking or physical punishment to the little one. They ensure that it is best for you to learn early on what you should and shouldn’t do.

Is corporal punishment mistreatment?

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child establishes that children and adolescents have the right to be protected from any form of corporal punishment.

No matter where they are cared for: at home, in care centers or educational centers, children should not be subjected to any type of abuse. This even applies to penal systems where adolescents who have transgressed any law in the country are serving sentences.

However, even though most countries in the world have been subject to the Convention on the Rights of the Child,  only 45 countries have developed laws that prohibit corporal punishment in children and adolescents. The world is still indebted to minors.

Why are there parents who apply this method?

Corporal punishment is ensured or deemed necessary by those parents who argue that they were created that way. They ensure that this type of violence did not generate trauma or prevent them from being successful adults or from reaching the goals they set themselves. They are even grateful for having had this type of creation.

However, we had to ask them  why they dare not question their parenting style. The ability to mistreat one’s parents exposes anyone to relive or recall the fear that has not been remedied. Everything has changed, as have customs, this type of behavior is now considered deplorable.

Intra-family violence is common in many dysfunctional families. Perhaps many parents feel bad for inflicting this punishment on their baby or child, but they do not dare to do the necessary work to forget and modify the learning gained, they repeat the same pattern of violence that they learned as children.

What does corporal punishment teach a baby?

A baby who cries can be nerve-racking. The days after giving birth are exhausting: sleepless nights, daily care and providing for all the baby’s needs can make anyone impatient.

But, we invite you to reflect. Do you really believe that a spanking can make the baby stop crying? A spanking on any part of the baby’s fragile body can hardly alleviate the physical or contact needs that the baby demands.

If we resort to any form of physical aggression, the learning that we will be subjecting the baby to will be negative, much more negative than many parents who were caught in childhood, certainly, remember and recognize.

This method of punishment teaches you to:

• That you shouldn’t cry if you feel hungry, thirsty or sleepy. Instead, you will not receive what you expect, on the contrary, you will only be attacked.
• That he must repress his needs, including the affective ones. Since you don’t want to feel the pain of being hit again.
• That must get used to pain and stress. This situation weakens the baby’s natural motivations for discovering the world around him.

• That you must be suspicious of yourself. Since your natural impulses apparently aren’t good.

What damage can it cause?

A spanking may seem light to an adult, but it’s not the same for a baby. A slap on the buttocks can cause trauma to the sciatic nerve. Nerve inflammation can affect the baby’s mobility temporarily or permanently. An internal rupture of blood vessels can be a worse consequence of this behavior.

Slapping your baby’s hands can cause dislocation of bones, muscles and tendons. Shaking is also very dangerous as the baby’s neck muscles are not yet ready to hold its head. This can affect the vertebrae and lead to brain damage, blindness and even the baby’s death.

What if we wait for the baby to grow up to apply it?

This method on the baby does not correct behavior. Children who are physically attacked can comply with the rules for fear of their parents. However, they do not do it because they became aware of the importance of the norms, the more likely is that when the aggressor parent is not present, the child transgresses the norm.

But, the consequences can be even greater. The child learns that violence is the best strategy to:

• Make your point of view count.

• Solve your problems.
• Don’t suppress your frustrations.
• Get what you want.
• Impose respect.
• Have authority.

The child  learns that violence is justified. If you are in a position of power, you will use violence against someone weaker or helpless. When we see the alarming news of gender violence or domestic violence, we must ask ourselves if this is what we want for our children.