Kids we
know are full of vivid imaginations. One fine evening my 3 and half year son
was pretend playing a superman game making my dupatta his superman wingsuit and
a gun in his hand. Lol, little did he know that superman never carries a gun.
Alike a typical mom I was behind him to finish his meal. No different than any
other kid he was throwing all kind of tantrums on me for eating. I was chasing
him from bedroom to kitchen, under the dining table to the corner of my living
room’s area palm. Eventually I lost my
patience and smacked him on his back. He dint have a morsel after that, but
cried and slept. Sitting on the sofa my Mother-in-law was
watching our peek-a-boo game but chose to be a silent observer at that point of
time. Later she sat me down and asked – “Spare the rod & spoil the child”
is that what you believe in ? and so did you raise your hand on him …….I was
unanswerable to her as I was feeling guilty about what I did. She said, gone
are the days when parents use to hit the kids to punish them. And I realized
why she said this. It doesn't necessarily mean, that a child
if not beaten will turn out to be an undisciplined and unruly individual. There
are many other ways in which a child can be made disciplined. Then why should
one take beating as the only option ? The child might not even open up with
his/her problems if the parents take physical methods for bringing him on the
right path. Children learn
by observation. If you smack in front of a child, you teach them that hitting
is Ok. Perhaps, later in life they will continue this behavior, and even as
children, when someone disagrees with them. Making the child understand his mistake and telling
him how to rectify it will be much more valuable. There are many other ways of
punishment. For example, if the child is
an avid sportsperson or a super hero fan , as punishment, his/her parents can
ban him/her from doing sports or watching his favorite show until he/she has
learnt the lesson. I feel that this is also as effective as hitting the child,
although this is a way of causing less heartache to the parent.
To end of, instilling moral values
in a child and guiding him/her onto the right path in life should be a parent's
top priority. Despite all the pain and heartache from punishing the child,
parents would eventually be able to see their child grow up to become someone
who is morally upright and sensible.So its
sensible enough to ‘Spoil the rod and spare the child’.Does this
argument end here ??
Blog ByShilpa GodiRegional HeadDots 'n' Tots Playschool
