Discipline vs. Abuse

The Line Between Abuse and Discipline

By definition, child abuse means mistreatment of a child by a parent or guardian, including neglect, beating, and sexual molestation. Discipline means training to act in accordance with the rules. Therefore discipline and abuse are too different matters completely. To me, abuse is when the child does nothing wrong and the parent takes his or her anger out on the child. Discipline is nothing like this. Discipline is where the child has done something wrong on his or her part and needs to realize that the action was morally wrong. Spanking, in my book, is okay because with some kids you can't get the message through to them, other than with minor physical punishment, that their actions were wrong. The next time the do something wrong they'll think "If I do this then I'll be spanked." Then they are dissuaded to do the wrong action. As they get older they'll, hopefully, realize on their own that it's wrong and shouldn't take place. I'm not saying that they deserve it. What I'm trying to say is that what other form of discipline would work on kids that don't listen to anything that you are trying to say to them. Not every discipline method works on all kids. Without discipline children would be like chaos. Discipline isn't trying to hurt a poor, innocent kid; it's to teach kids to know the difference between right and wrong.



Olivia Koester