IELTS Essay: Physical Punishment

Sample Answer

Some traditional parents argue that they should be allowed to punish their children physically. I am in strong disagreement with this contention despite the legitimacy of parental rights.

Those in favor of parents being permitted to punish their children physically point out this is an historically ingrained privilege. For thousands of years, parents have had the ability to raise their children according to their own beliefs and values. This includes choices related to culture, religion, diet, and lifestyle. Physical punishment can be theoretically added to this list as it has a massive impact on a child’s psychology and future identity. The support for this practice is that many successful individuals have anecdotally expressed gratitude to parents who hit them when they were younger, believing that it instilled a sense of discipline in them.

However, research has shown that the positive impact in select cases of corporal punishment is greatly outweighed by emotional and psychological abuse. The vast majority of children who were physically abused develop either temporary or lasting side-effects. The most common one is that children are not as confident and willing to express themselves because they consistently fear punishment from a loved one. As they get older, this can become a barrier both for interpersonal relationships and their public persona. Many children who have only learned discipline through physical punishment end up hitting their own children and this can create an ongoing cycle of abuse.

In conclusion, although parents should have the right to raise their children as they see fit, this prerogative must be limited in the case of physical abuse. In most nations, there are already laws banning corporal punishment.