The Tribune

What do bicycle tire tubes, extension cords, leather belts, and broom sticks have in common? They are all instruments of corporal punishment.

Twelve years into the millennium I am floored by the way a good number of Bahamians hold fast to beating as an accepted practice in child rearing. How often have you heard them say “I tote plenty cut hip and I ein dead?” Conventional wisdom acknowledges that this makes said person a survivor and not any more learned through force and or pain.

Truth be told, any number of psychological traumatic consequences may be attributed to corporal punishment. Children may experience anything from increased risk of disruption of the secure parent-child attachment to suicidal ideation and self-abuse. More commonly, the exposed child may be vulnerable to increased risk of somatic (physical) and psychosomatic problems.

Parents who beat often argue that corporal punishment works because behaviour is modified and the child becomes more tame. While this may be the case, I advance that children are cognitive beings whose behaviour is predicated first by thoughts and feelings. Both thoughts and feelings are largely influenced by environmental factors, conditioning, values and flight-fright (hyper arousal, or the acute stress response). If in fact a child behaves because he is fearful as opposed to intrinsically motivated to do so, the positive reinforcement goal is incomplete. Perhaps then, the rod of correction may be contributing to what we have come to experience in modern day as the angry Bahamian society. To ‘run hot’ on your child is to equate yourself to the level of a child – a child who is testing the world around them for the first time.

Children crave boundaries and as such it is incumbent on parents to establish healthy and significant pockets of true-to-life experiences and social balance within the safety of a nurturing home conducive to cognitive development. Lest we forget that children are adults waiting to happen. Alternatively, caregivers and parents may incorporate developmental forms of discipline (which in Latin means “teaching” or “learning”) that will most assuredly decrease the frustration and helplessness in parents which often lead to physical punishment.

Alternatives include: Promoting a verbose culture – words instead of actions hone the child’s communication skills and promotes a healthy culture of expression. Listening to the child so as to determine he/she did or did not do something then opting to explain your reason for corrective communication may enhance the child’s decision-making capacities.

Helping the child label his or her feelings with words as early as possible. The nine inborn feelings (interest, enjoyment, surprise, distress, anger, fear, shame, disgust, and dismay) should be labelled with words. This will facilitate tension regulation and aid the transition to more mature ways of handling emotion.

Positive reinforcement: praise and reward systems – even enjoyment depravation - will enhance the child’s self-esteem and or when appropriate standards are met. Positive reinforcement is more effective in obtaining long-term behavioural compliance than frightening and shaming punishments.

Setting a good example for the child, who more than often wants to be like a parent. Children identify with their parents, and they will put feelings and actions into words when they see their parents doing this. Who parents are, and how they behave, will have a profound impact on the development of children. Your child will follow your lead.

Obviously, there is much more work involved in measured discipline as opposed to responding to a child’s undesired behaviour with force – I’d imagine that as imperfect beings we’d always need to have a bigger force to beat sense into our heads when we go off course.

Keep thinking though: you’re good for it.

• Kirkland Pratt is a counselling psychologist with a master’s degree in counselling psychology with an emphasis in education. He lectures in industrial psychology and offers counselling and related services to individuals and businesses. For comments, contact kirklandpratt@gmail.com.