Discipline or Child Abuse?
Do desi parents discipline their children with a few too many smacks? A slightly touchy subject, but one that needs to be talked about. Is it common to be physically disciplined for ‘bad’ behaviour? A slap here, a shoe there, that leather belt with the buckle…various degrees of what we can be classified as discipline as well as abuse.
I think every family and every person has a different definition of what classifies abuse. This is largely related to the degree of discipline or abuse they have experienced in their own lives. But this can be very dangerous because what if you come from a family in which violence is a regular/normal thing then you may think it is a part of life? Scary thought. The smack on the buttocks is not just ended there, but instead is a ongoing and violent beating…very scary.
Since we are talking about this in a desi context, do you think it is taken as a ‘normal’ thing to slap your child in desi culture? Why?
What is violence about? It is about gaining control. If you can wrap your brain around that, then a lot of questions will be answered. If a child is bad, and you hit that child, what is being achieved in your mind? You are essentially trying to discipline that child into obedience. But what is the trade-off? You are nurturing a human being that thinks being pushed around is okay, and who will eventually be scared to stand up for themselves later in life in the face of dangerous/abusive situations.
Lets think about these things and share some thoughts. What is your opinion?
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I believe hitting a child can be quite demeaning and one must try their true best in never trying to hit their child.
There are other ways in which you can get a child to listen to you and it goes a long way. The bottom line I feel is you have to be able to relate to a child.