This refers to the editorial ‘Saving our children’ (March 4). I believe that the burden of responsibility for widespread violence against children in our country lies primarily with what I would call our ‘warped’ approach to parenting which, to varying extents, can be seen at work in all the strata of society. This mentality deems investing any time or effort in understanding children’s psychology – and learning productive methods to handle them without resorting to violence – as futile and unnecessary. How many of us prefer to engage in meaningful conversations with our children and try to see life from their viewpoint so that we can understand their concerns and guide them skilfully? The other factors like dire economic situation and injustice in our society that adults have to deal with on a daily basis further aggravate the matter.
The extent to which parents in our society generally allow violence to be perpetrated against their children is baffling at times. One totally agrees that a massive, all-encompassing campaign needs to be launched both by the government and the media to raise awareness over this issue at grassroots level. It should try to uproot our repressive approaches to parenting before aiming to ‘educate’ the educators of our children at all levels.
Maryam Jameel
Bonn, Germany