Cultural Analysis of "What Science Says About Using Physical Force To Punish A Child"

I found my article on Huffington Post.

I chose three words that are central to the piece: behavior, punishment/discipline, and abuse. The word abuse is only mentioned once, but I feel that it's central to the argument that is being presented.

The main idea behind the article is that physical punishment has negative effects on children. Studies have shown that corporal punishment can lead to kids having mental and personality disorders.

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Freewrite: 

It's a well accepted fact of life that children will sometimes need to be disciplined. They are just figuring out their places in the world, and they'll break the rules or do something that is unacceptable. The way to do this is for children to respect and trust their parents, not fear them.

Abuse is somewhat of a taboo topic in our culture. The author, in mentioning it in this piece, strengthens her argument. While no one wants to look at spanking a child as abuse, experts have shown that it can have similar effects later in life.

Discipline is essential to help children learn proper ways of behavior, but when the matter of punishment crosses into an area where it could be considered abuse, that's where things get controversial and heated.