Use alternative methods of disciplining your child which are legal, suggests counsellor
Bonus spoke to Maphuti Mashiane, a registered counsellor, to find out what the psychological effects of hitting children are following the Constitutional Court's judgement that ruled spanking your children at home, illegal
OLOKWANE – There is a new dawn for discipline in South Africa. The Constitutional Court passed a judgement on 18 September, to do away with the common-law defence of reasonable chastisement when spanking a child.
Read more: Spanking your child at home is now officially illegal, following ConCourt ruling
BONUS spoke to Maphuti Mashiane, a registered counsellor, to find out what the psychological effects of spanking children are and what other ways parents can use to discipline their children, which are within the bounds of the law.
Mashiane explained that having physical pain inflicted on a child jeopardises the parent-child bond and the consequences may affect the child long-term in ways that may include increased aggression and mental health problems. “Children who are spanked are more likely to suffer from depressive effects in adulthood, including moderate to heavy drinking and street drug abuse. People will often say, I was spanked and I turned out just fine, and the reason might be that there are those who will correct their behaviour and those who will not respond to it,” he said.
He added that parents need to stop bombarding their children with material things or extramural activities that keep them too occupied and limits parent-to-child time. Children learn through actions, they need to be given affection, hugs, kisses and to be listened to. “If you want to punish a child, discuss with them and clarify what they did wrong, why it is wrong and see if they can also take accountability for their actions. Otherwise, you can limit their reward,” he explained.
Parents need to start instilling foundations of love, affection, hugs and spending time with their children at an early age. “Get to know the child. Children normally react badly or naughty because of an experience they had or some are just replicating what they saw from another person. That is why it is important to have a personal relationship with your child. Know them in that manner that they will feel free and safe to talk about things,” he concluded.
