The social competence of children is usually associated with authoritative parenting of all parenting styles, in which parents balance the demands of the child and responsiveness. Therefore, children raised with parents under authoritative parenting have advantages in early peer relationship competencies, rarely use illicit substances during puberty, and have higher levels of emotional well-being. Authoritative parents have high hopes for the maturity and competence of their children but are always ready to discuss their concerns with their children.
The main challenge for authoritative parents is to build trusting and open relationships by setting rules and boundaries and using open discussion and reasoning. In this model, parents explain and argue their actions, allowing children to understand their parents better. Authoritative parents treat their children with respect, making them more socially active, independent, and happy (Santrock, 2010). They have higher academic performance and are less prone to violence than children raised in other parenting models. However, in many parenting models, the problem of physical punishment of children persists.
Nevertheless, any physical punishment exacerbates the situation and catalyst for more severe problems. Spanking and hitting often lead to increased aggression or antisocial behavior, mental problems, and taking out anger on other people. Physical punishment does not help children learn responsibility and independence or develop a conscience or self-control (Miller-Perrin & Perrin, 2018). This type of punishment only draws attention to a specific case but does not explain why this should not be done in the future. Moreover, children learn to perceive the world around them by the example of their parents. Thus, those parents who apply physical punishment to children can teach them how to resolve conflicts with the help of aggression and pain. This type of upbringing destroys the bond and trusting relationship with parents and threatens to degenerate into more severe physical abuse.
Reference
Miller-Perrin, C., & Perrin, R. (2018). Physical punishment of children by US parents: moving beyond debate to promote children’s health and well-being. Psicologia: Reflexão e Crítica, 31, 25-28.
Santrock, J. (2010). A Topical Approach to Life-Span Development (10th ed.). McGraw-Hill Publishers. New York, NY.