Should spanking be banned at home?

Last week, South Africa’s high-est court upheld a ruling that spanking or corporal punish-ment of children at home was uncon-stitutional, saying the practice violates child rights.

Young Citizen sought the opinion of children and child experts on the ban and this is what they said.

Taliq Mrisho, a Standard Seven leav-er at Msewe Primary School, says cor-poral punishment is not the best way to instill discipline in children.

“I don’t like corporal punishment at all. Sticks do not help us learn how to behave well. I wish our Constitution can ban spanking just like South Africa did. I normally feel very bad, ashamed and unwanted when my parents beat me as a punishment for wrong doing,” says Taliq.

Khadija Rajabu from Tumaini Nkerenza English Medium School is in support of Taliq’s view. She too wishes corporal punishment would be banned. She hates being given strokes by her parents.

“Sometimes I ask my parents why they use sticks to punish us. My mother keeps telling me that the rod is meant to discipline us,” says Khadija.

She gets scared every time she sees her parents carrying canes. Khadija runs away at times to avoid the strokes. “This makes me think hard trying to figure out what offense I might have committed to deserve spanking,” she says.

Edwick Mapalala, a psychosocial expert with Regional Psychosocial Support Initiative, which advocates for children’s well-being, says corporal punishment is inhumane as no one wants to be disciplined with sticks.

“I personally don’t support corporal punishment. What South Africa did is good. Parents should never administer corporal punishment to their children when they are angry. If a child misbe-haves, you should help them under-stand the mistake they have done,” says the expert.

According to her, disciplining a child in a barbaric manner could make them become violent. “A bullying or violent child is a product of bullying or violent parents,” she says.

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