BY AFSHAN TAYYAB
It is a fact that as one sows so shall he reap. The way parents treat their children are most likely to get similar kind of treatment by their children in future.
Parents frequently spanking their children to refrain them from misbehaving are actually teaching that violence is a fair method of accomplishing a goal. Conversely, if parents want respect and good behaviour from their children then parents should demonstrate politeness.
Therefore, parents should consider the teachings of Islam, human psyche and the state laws while training their children. It goes without saying that corporal punishment merely promotes anti- social behavior among children.
When we see corporal punishment using the lens of Islamic teachings, we find that children deserve to be protected from this cruel and obsolete practice. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is the model for the whole of humankind.
His attitude towards children was always compassionate and merciful. Our Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (S.A.W) said, “Fear Allah and treat your children [small or grown] fairly (with equal justice).” Succinctly, parents should follow the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet for raising their children as a competent citizen of the society.
Similarly, human psychology explains that instead of promoting good behaviour and discipline, corporal punishment produces adverse effects to develop anti-social behaviour among children. In extreme cases, corporal punishment results in anger, resentment, low self-confidence, and worst children just repeat the cycle of violence to themselves and others.
There are many ways suggested by psychologists for effective training of children including counseling, positive reinforcement, rewards and praise etc. to make them confident and well-behaved so that they can achieve the long-term goals in life.
Likewise, corporal punishment is outlawed in almost every country so do in Pakistan, due to its negative effects on the holistic development of the children. The study of criminals’ lives revealed that most of the criminals were maltreated in their childhood from their adults that resulted in anti -social behaviour for the society.
In addition, due to the potential risk to produce criminals in the society, the Prohibition of Corporal Punishment Act, 2010 was passed in Pakistan. Now, the child has the right to be given respect for his personality and individuality and shall not be made subject to corporal punishment or other humiliating or degrading treatments.
In spite of all these disadvantages of corporal punishment, some parents are still in favour of corporal punishment for managing the undesired behaviour of their children .They argue that punishment is necessary as in their childhood they were treated the same way and this thing did nothing harm to their personality. But their anti -social behaviour towards their children is the ripple effect of their personality disorder due to the corporal punishment in their childhood.
Thus, it can be concluded that corporal punishment is of limited effectiveness but has potentially deleterious side effects that ruin the children’s personality and make them anti-social. It is suggested that parents should follow the Sunnah of our Holy Prophet (S.A.W.) in order to learn about how to treat children .This learning will help them incorporate the effective strategies of human psychology while training of their children, to make them productive and globally competent citizens of the society.
