Does corporal punishment work?

Agree metaphor. Corporal punishment is the quick easy answer that gives immediate satisfaction to the victims. However it does not solve the initial problem.

Unruly family individauls are just an inherit attitude from an Unruly Government Administration...

People and Institutions should set good examples rather than whipping someones end...

I agree. A children grow older, you have to treat them and dicipline them in different ways.

I think a sharp smack offers immediate results and satisfaction but quickly fades from memory. Whereas prolonged time in the "naughty corner" can be more effective because you're keeping a child away from what it wants, be that toys or friends. Think about why you never spank teenagers. If you spank a teenager they will either shurg off the smack and go out and do it again, but try harder not to get caught, or become rebellious and purposely taunt you make you use corporal punishment again to prove that you're a bully. If you ground them, you take them away from what they value the most and make them not want to lose those things again.

A sharp smack teaches a lot more than "the naughty corner" in my opinion ...

Yes, but trying harder not to get caught is one of life's most valuable lessons ;-)

Well I hate to say it Frenchieman but your child probably will grow up to spank their child on occasion. My parents spanked me on occasion and I will probably do the same to mine someday. Simply because I don't know of alternative methods that are effective. I will probably also sing the same songs to my baby when I'm trying to get to sleep that my mother sang to me. That's how most people operate.

I'm not saying that I think there is anything wrong with the occasional slap on the bottom when a child is misbehaving, but in all honesty can any of us say that we never misbehaved again after that smack? I know I still misbehaved, I just tried harder not to get caught.

I agree with what fluffy123 has said. But then I occasionally spank my children under certain circumstances, and I find it to be effective with two but not the others. But then by Pilgram's standards I am merely repeating the cycle of violence, and I was spanked as well as a child :-(

Upfront take a look at the Stats:

http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/deterrence-states-without-death-penalty-have-had-consistently-lower-murder-rates

Also, I'm sure you're smart enough to realize that Saudi Arabia does not have 100% transparency when it comes to reporting its crime rates, especially its rape and murder rates.

honestly it depends on the child the situation. for example if your child touches something dangerous like the stove and plug many parents will smack the child's hand to let them know that it's something they must not touch.

but spanking does not work for every child. some children get spanked everyday and still act like a fool while other children won't even dare doing whatever they did bad again.

i personally can count the number of times i was spanked on one hand. my parents only spanked me when i did something really bad and had been warned numerous times about.

I am all for giving children a 'little sharp slap' so they know they have either done wrong, said something horrible or make them realise they were about to do something dangerous.

Generations of people have been brought up like this - this does not mean abuse or beatings at all. Just a quick slap to make them realise they have done wrong.

He must be the man who asked the man who meted out the punishment to tie the German and the Pakistani behind his back!

I know someone who was given 1000 lashes and walked away smiling ..

I don't know about Qatar, but the lashes are usually don't cut the skin..

300 lashes for a maid! Can she survive that kind of punishment?

It only works on Muslims.. Coz non-muslims cannot be lashed!

No worries. I am not the easiest guy to understand ;-)

I think is some cultures administering a physical punishment on one's wife as form of discipline is perfectly acceptable, but obviously not in yours or mine. At least not anymore . . . don't forget England's 'rule of thumb' that allowed a man to discipline his wife with a stick so long as it was no larger than the width of his thumb.

Then I stand corrected :o)

By the way, wife beating is abuse and does not come under corporal punishment.

Pilgram and i disagree, since i am for spanking a child (on the hands or legs) if required. i believe that it does work..

britexpat--to be honest the reason I posted this was because I read in the Gulf Times how a housemaid was sentenced to 300 lashes for illicit relations. The rest--corporal punishment for criminals, children and spouses, stems from that in order to broaden the discussion. Otherwise it just becomes another bashing thread about the Qatari judicial system, and that isn't where I wanted to take the conversation. Besides there's already been a thread about the domestic abuse of women recently.

Believe it or not, I really don't have a hidden agenda. I think you are reading to hard into my threads.

You have my admiration and not a little respect for bringing the thread round to your true intentions :o)

Kudos !!

Upfront--I'm not sure what I mean by 'unruly' because I cannot fathom hitting my wife. I just thought I would toss in out there in light of a recent poll conducted by Qatar University and printed in the Gulf Times of locals that stated 58% of women had been physically hit by a male member of the family.

It's obviously common, so I was wondering if people thought it worked.

@Frenchie: It works with most kids. With unruly women, I am not too sure. May be it does not work, may be it does. But exactly what do you mean by unruly women? What constitutes unruly will depend on different places around the world.

@Pilgrim:

Statistics from the States show that murder rates are actually higher in States that have the death penalty. This is probably wrong. I just checked, Saudi Arabia is before last on the a list of countries with highest crime rates(Qatar being last on the list)

http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_mur_percap-crime-murders-per-capita

All the death penalty does is make people more careful not to get caught. Does this mean imprisonment/life sentence makes people get caught? I would have thought anyone committing a crime will try to avoid getting caught, irrespective of whether corporal punishment exists or not.

I will never support it despite having been beaten as a kid, well, by both my parents and some teachers too. For one thing it doesn't work..not always at least and not in my case!And for another its dangerous..many a times what was intended on being a "light beating" by a grownup has then turned fatal/critical. controlling your temper and knowing where to draw the line is not as easy as many assume. And yes kids who are beaten often turn beaters.

As for grown up criminals then I am for it the same way I am for the death penalty in the case of certain serious crimes.it may not always be a deterrent but at least the criminals don't get off scot free..provided of course his/her crime is proved 100%.

Corporal punishment does work with kids if admistered with an equal dose of love and an explanation as to why the child was whipped. A daily dose as Adolfe's case would turn them to be victims of abuse not admonished for corrective behavior. Corporal punishment on a spouse [no matter which sex] is plain abusive as the spouses are not raising a child but functioning as equals.

and the receiver. Nothing wrong with a bit of consensual corporal punishment

But again: who cares for the law in Qatar?

It is not allowed in schools in Qatar by LAW!

Even sometimes the fear of a stick does a lot to mischievous ;)

Damn the statistics....

There is a difference between abuse and punishment...

I personaly think that corporal punishment does work - for children and criminals.

But he is the poster child for Pilgram's argument! I am guessing Stalin did not grow up in a particularly loving home either.

Hitler again....ya, I guess that is what some people just can't help themselves to come up with at certain times...ah well!

Noticed, most certainly....

Hitler's stepfather believed in a daily thrashing for young Adolf, and look what happened.

But I still sympathize with my mother spanking me. I deserved it and it kept me in line.

ok, so light banter does not work...sigh.

Yet children who are abused have a higher tendency of being abusers themselves.

No merci. I'd probably divorce her, as she would me, so that wouldn't be effective in reforming my behaviour would it? :-)

Having said that, if there is no way out, maybe it would work. As a child I listened more carefully to my mother after being spanked, but then I had no other option.

it won't. it only makes them more unruly.

rather a reverse psychology will be much helpful.

No it doesn't. Statistics from the States show that murder rates are actually higher in States that have the death penalty. Murders, rapes, stealing still occurs in countries with the death penalty. All the death penalty does is make people more careful not to get caught.

Well Frenchie, let me put it this way....if you mess up and the wife slaps you around a bit...would you not be careful not to repeat the offense? ;)