Hitting children to discipline them can result in bruises and physical injuries. By imposing a punishment, teachers or parents inflict pain on the child. If such physical injury continues, kids develop fear of the punishment and the punishment-giver. Physical violence makes what should be a trusting parent-child or teacher-student relationship look mean, ugly and frightening.
Physical punishment can make children reclusive, aggressive or frightened. Such children express their emotions by becoming disruptive in classrooms or by being too withdrawn. Their concentration levels decrease and they find it difficult to cope with studies and mingle with other children at schools.This impacts their academic performance and their social skills. They show a reluctance to go to school. The impact of physical violence is not only on children who experience it firsthand but also on children who witness such violence; they are more likely to exhibit aggressive behavior at school.
Even children with disabilities are subjected to physical violence. In some cases, teachers meted out physical punishment because such children exhibited behavioral symptoms characteristic of their medical condition. Physical violence alters behavioral characteristics in such children. Human Rights Watch website reports autistic children turning aggressive after experiencing physical punishment and children suffering from Asperger's syndrome becoming more withdrawn after incidents of physical violence.
Parents or teachers who mete out corporal punishment convey the dangerous message that it's not wrong to physically abuse others to get things done. Adult behaviors create impressions in children's minds and they are more likely to follow the footsteps of the elders in their lives. Children who want to retaliate against their abusive adults but are afraid to do so may show their anger on pets, young siblings or other children.