Focus: Violence and children

The massacre of students at the Virginia Tech Campus in the US was labelled as one of the worst of its kind. This incident of extreme violence led to many debates, with security on campus coming under the main focus.

Added to that, recent reports in the UAE about teachers using corporal punishment as a means to discipline pupils has engendered strong reaction from our readers. They debate on the impact violence has on the development of children.

Parents are never truly aware of the violence in their children.

Children, mostly those who are pampered a lot, turn violent when faced with a "no". Most parents give in to their demands due to affection. The onus is on the parents to contain the child's temper by teaching him or her the right attitude, lest it leads to violent behaviour.
– Subhasis Mukherjee
Gulf News Reader's club member
India

No, I don't think so; it does not apply to all parents. Some parents, especially those who have sons are aware if their children are violent but they usually tend to believe that as the child grows up, he will be fine. Also, some parents don't come to know how much of rage is inside a child because they are under the impression that as a person grows older, he or she will become calmer.
– Sonam Radia
Britain

I think that parents know about the violence in their children. It is just that they do not want to believe or accept the fact that it is a part of their child's behaviour. They always think, "My child can't be like this." Also because not many of them would want their children to undergo treatment or counselling for such behaviour, so they choose to ignore it.
– Gaelle Nkuipou
Tanzania

I guess most parents are at least partially aware, if not completely aware of it. The reason being that they themselves have gone through this phase, so they know how one might feel in certain situations. However, due to the generation gap, they won't be able to grasp it fully and therefore they won't be completely aware.
– Ajab Attari
India

Corporal punishment creates young people prone to violent responses.

Yes, corporal punishment increases the risk of children developing major social problems. The strongest but unintended message that it sends to a child is that violence is acceptable behaviour; that it is all right to use force to coerce a weaker individual. Corporal punishment results in aggression and anti-social behaviour in childhood and as an adult.
– Saima Dhani
Gulf News Reader's Club member
Pakistan

Corporal punishment meted out to children can neither help them learn what is the right way to do things nor can it inculcate ideas to do things in the right manner. Instead, it may not only injure them physically but also make them feel dominated, harassed, disliked and hated. They could retaliate violently without caring about the consequences.
– Chandra Kumar Phuyal
Gulf News Reader's Club member
Al Ain

In my opinion, corporal punishment can make youngsters prone to violent reaction only to some extent. It is likely that a child may bottle up his or her emotions and they might one day just open up in a burst of rage but then again, it depends on an individual's personality.
– Danish Seddiqi
Pakistan

I think it does affect. It does not just make them prone to violent reactions, but I think it also affects their mental development. What I feel is that due to being subjected to corporal punishment, a child may, at a later stage, treat someone in the same manner as he was treated.
– Syed Rizvi
Pakistan

More attention has to be paid to mental health in youngsters.

Yes definitely. If parents concern themselves with the mental health of their children, beside physical health, we wouldn't have to hear of such a terrible incident as the Virginia Tech massacre. We can't change what has happened but can't we prevent such an incident from happening in the future?
– Shakila Tasnim
Abu Dhabi

I think that more attention has to be paid to mental health in youngsters today. They need to be of sound mental health and need parents' attention for this. Today's generation sways easily to media influences. It is the duty of parents to teach them the difference between good and bad.
– K. Ragavan
Gulf News Reader's Club member
India

Yes, it needs attention. This is mainly because of the phase that one goes through along with a drastic change in lifestyle wherein an individual gets exposed to a lot more things than he or she is used to. I think parents should be more involved in ensuring that enough attention is paid to a child's mental health condition, while schools should do the same.
– Abeer Rahman
Bangladesh

Yes, especially for international students who come to a different country and are exposed to a new culture and environment. They could do with having someone to talk to. Then again, it depends on the individual. I think counselling, too, should be encouraged and the stigma associated with it needs to be removed, if possible.
– Elma Zahir
Bangladesh

Campus security measures need to get tougher.

In my opinion, it needs to be average. The tougher the rules are, the more the students work to break them. School security should be flexible, disciplining children doesn't mean being hard on them, they should not feel that the regulation is a punishment; instead implement a flexible one that would let them love their campus, the educators and appreciate what they are learning.
– Lizette T. Guzman
Philippines

Yes, because here there are campuses, which have a working environment, too, so we see a lot of people walking in and out at all times. They are open to the public. Such places do need to have better security. The campuses, which are enclosed are okay, I think.
– Daisy Haggas
Britain

No, I don't think there is any need to beef up security here. We are doing fine and we all feel safe and secure. We haven't had any incident like the one at Virginia Tech, so there is no reason to panic. It's quite safe here.
– Imran Fazal
Tanzania

No, I don't think there is any need for security measures to get tougher. I feel absolutely safe on campus.
– Svetlana Zakharora
Russia