According to UNICEF’s study conducted in 30 countries, over 62% of children subjected to physical punishment developed fear or resentment toward adults while less than 10% showed sustained positive behavior change and most improvements were short-lived.
In most countries, corporal punishment was banned in 2021 and replaced with positive discipline in which it reported better student behavior and learning outcomes.
Positive discipline fosters mutual respect by modelling respectful communication and understanding which children learn to reciprocate. This respectful approach nurtures children sense of responsibility and encourage collaboration, helping internalize moral principals rather merely following rules.
In Kenya, many adults grew up believing in the proverb “spare the rod spoil the child”. Parents could cane their children with the aim of correcting their behavior and morals. At that point, it seemed to work.
At the schools, there was no different as one could not be spared for since any failure of a question was counted as a stroke of cane. This made the learners study hard to avoid being in corporal punishment which was supported by both teachers and parents.
Unlike nowadays, respect to the elders was considered a very high moral in our community. This comes after the report of increase moral decadency.
The parents, teachers, guardians, and other elderly should practice positive reinforcement by rewarding good behavior, let children experience the result of their actions in a safe way
Rather than defending them, they should give them short break away from the situation to calm, give logistical consequences, set clear rules and expectations, remove the small privileges and overall act as role models.
As corporal punishment is banned, parents should use the disciplinary ways today rather than assuming their children to do what they want. African morals should still continue so that our culture does not loss it’s impact.
