While The Child Rights Charter 2003 of India specifically states “all children have a right to be protected against neglect, maltreatment, injury, trafficking, sexual and physical abuse of all kinds, corporal punishment, exploitation, violence and degrading treatment,” children are not even protected at home. Incidences of corporal punishment are evident as a tool to discipline children and as a normal action when a mother smacks her son trying to stop his tantrum, when a father or an elder one shakes a child because he/she has hit another child and when a kid is hit for answering back.
So, how does it affect those innocent souls? Most importantly, these ‘light’ punishments in infancy, tend to escalate as the child grows older. Being terror-stricken, children often condone the violence and show signs of deep hurt in their behaviour that often goes unnoticed. Aggression breeds aggression.