Child Abuse

My friends are telling me that caning is considered child abuse these days. So farnee I thought. Like that all of my peers are victims of child abuse, as hardly anyone in my generation was spared the rod. Until I read this article on the Straits Times yesterday saying that calling a child useless can be considered abuse. The article even suggested that locking a child in a room is child abuse! So what can parents do that is not child abuse?? Reason with the kids as if they are mature individuals?! If the kids are so mature, the parents don't have to discipline them alreadi lor.

Calling a child useless can be considered as mental abuse. When this happened, it can caused irreversible damage as they grow into adults. Maybe some parents do not realize what mental abuse is, which will lead to the child open to become abusers themselves because children are so impressionable at a young age.

If you have children, treat them with love and understanding. Yelling and criticizing is not the way to discipline a child. Behavioral problems should be addressed in a calm manner. Compliment a child when they do something good. If you feel that you are going to say or do something that is not good or could sadden a child, walk away and do not confront the situation until you know how to handle it rationally.

My point is not that it's right to yell or criticize kids all the time... what I find farneee is how can yelling at a kid when he or she has done something wrong be considered abuse?? I mean which parent like to yell and criticize their kids? Can you honestly tell me that you haven't met a spoilt child? Chances are the spoilt brat's parents treat the child with "love" and never discipline him or her. I personally know of a classmate where the mother will talk nicely and reason things out with him even though he's already a gangster. Now he's in prison.

It can certainly be frustrating trying to reason with some kids but on the other hand, some children can be surprising mature for their age. Generally speaking, I sort of agree that we cannot stick to reasoning as the only tool to teach a child. Sometimes, locking a child in a room or caning, while unpleasant, is better than just talking nicely and treating them with respect. Generalization aside, no two child is the same, so there is no one best or right way. The right way will probably vary from child-to child.

Some parents beat their children, not out of love or the desire to correct their child's behaviour, but out of frustration and anger. To me, I find such actions wrong but not necessarily abusive. If such behaviour is frequent or if the parents react unreasonably out of proportion, such as hitting the child with a belt for forgetting to switch off the light, then I would coin it as abuse. Just my two cents worth ya.

i feel we shouldn't call our child useless constantly. child will suffer a loss in confidence. that's kind of a mental abuse