Posted on July 11, 2008 in latest news
Children need to be disciplined. They are naughty and do as they please. In the process, they offend somebody else, or break something very precious or mess up the house. They offend their parents. Rules laid out by parents are broken. What does a parent do in such a situation? Punish the child of course. How? Not many favor corporal punishment. Many parents physically abuse their child, whereas others go in for punishments, which are less harsh.
Corporal punishment is not permitted in several developed countries. One is violating the law if one abuses a child physically. In less developed countries, it still persists. Physical punishment generally implies that a stronger person has an edge over the weaker individual. A child cannot raise his or her voice against the parent and revolt. He or she has to bear the physical abuse. Why should child after all go through all this? Why should he or she accept the overbearing attitude of the parent? Such questions undermine corporal punishment.
Why is Corporal Punishment Bad for the Child?
- Children grow up with psychological problems
- Aggression can create fear in them
- They may hate their parents
- A small child is unable to defend himself or herself
- Leads to anti-social behavior
- Children my lie to hide their wrong doings
- It can lead to child abuse. The parents may not draw a line as to how far he must go when resorting to physical punishment
- It is undermining the dignity and self-respect of the child
- It causes timidity in the child
- The parent- child relationship gets affected. Sometimes the parents can be quite unreasonable in their spankings. Even for petty offense they may spank their child
- An outlet for the parent to take out his or her frustrations
- The child will also develop the qualities of physically abusing another person. Violence will appear to be an accepted norm to him or her
- The experience can be painful, both physically and emotionally· Children who are physically assaulted by parents may retaliate against their parents later in adult life. They may resent their parents
- The child loses out on self-respect and self-worth
Other Alternatives to Corporal Punishment
- Setting up of age-appropriate, firm and consistent limits to the child. Punishment to the child should be given according to his or her age
- Mediate resolution and conflict skills can be taught to the child. They should learn to listen attentively, showing trust as well as being trustworthy, setting up of group goals
- Reasoning out and talking to the child. Verbal communication between the child-parent can do wonders
- Children should be given the opportunity for solving problems rationally
- Encouraging and praising the child
- Allowing children to have their own set of rules and how to deal with situation when such rules are violated
What Schools, Community and Parents Can Do?
- Expose children to other sources such as the internet, movies, television, puppets, radio programs that show alternatives to corporal punishment
- Provide necessary information to parents on child development through conferences, workshops, mentoring, newsletter, brochures, flyers etc. Conduct education classes for those who have recently become parents
- Establish ties between the community and school through family counseling and mental health programs to help families under stress
- Develop an unified and comprehensive system of advocacy favoring the children
Corporal punishment indeed does not appear to be an acceptable norm of checking a child’s behavior. After all, why should the helpless child be subjected to parental high-handedness in terms of physical violence. He or she also has rights to defend himself or herself. The violence can damage him or her physically and emotionally. Parents should not resort to such violent ways of rebuking a child.
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