Abuse Versus Discipline
A mother spanks her child in a public parking lot. While a nearby citizen watches in horror and begins to dial 911. Is this wrong? Does the mother have authority to do this to her own child? Who gets to decide how the mother disciplines her child? Why here?
These are the questions that come across the mind of today's society. Most people would agree that the child did something “wrong,” but opinion collide on how the mother should discipline the child. Parents from generations ago would not have thought twice about this incident. In today's era, as technology has progressed so has the ideas of child abuse and discipline. What is the difference between child abuse vs. child discipline?
Then Versus Now
Disciplining children in the 1950s has been seen as strict, harsh and oppressive .In fact, children were often meant to be "seen but not heard." Back then , if a child forgot to say “sir” or “ma'am” behind their statement to a teacher or another adult, he or she had the possibility of taking a blow from a switch to the rear.
This is a lot different from generations growing up today. Children are almost never taught proper manners when addressing higher authority figures. Some parents turn their heads at any sign of physical discipline.
Statistics
Statistics show a report of child abuse is made every ten seconds. Another shows that more than five children die from child abuse every day. That means everyday about 9,000 reports of child abuse are made. Children are less likely to die from child abuse if they are active in the community or attend a public school system. 80% of children who die from child abuse are under the age of four . The other 20% are in elementary schools. This dramatic difference is due to authorities and professionals helping to protect children.
Why don't the children tell? Statistics say that over 90% of children who are sexually abused, know who their abuser is. Children are terrified of their