Discipline must not become abuse in raising children – ARK Foundation

The Founder of the Ark Foundation, Dr Angela Dwamena-Aboagye, has stressed the need for discipline in child upbringing while warning parents and caregivers against crossing the line from correction into abuse.

Speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on Monday, Dr Dwamena-Aboagye said discipline was essential to raising responsible children, particularly because young people were still in their formative years and required guidance and boundaries.

“Discipline is extremely necessary,” she said, arguing that the principle applied to adults as well as children. She, however, emphasised that discipline must have clear limits and should never become a justification for violence or cruel treatment.

Dr Dwamena-Aboagye said people generally had an instinctive understanding of when disciplinary action had gone too far and had become abusive.

She described herself as a strong advocate of discipline, noting that a lack of discipline among children and adults could have serious consequences for society.

However, she said that commitment to discipline must be accompanied by a clear distinction between appropriate correction and acts that harm or degrade a child.

While acknowledging that some forms of physical correction remain part of traditional approaches to discipline, she warned against increasingly severe and dangerous methods.

She cited hitting a child with household objects such as a frying pan, locking them in a room or deliberately withholding food as examples of conduct that should be recognised as abuse rather than discipline.

Her comments come as JoyNews prepares to examine the issue of violent punishment against children in Ghana in a new investigative documentary produced in partnership with SOS Children’s Villages.

Titled “Hands That Hurt, Hands That Heal”, the Hotline documentary will investigate the experiences of children subjected to violent forms of punishment and examine the systems, institutions and safeguards intended to protect vulnerable children.

The documentary also seeks to highlight gaps that continue to undermine efforts to safeguard children and hold attention on the broader question of how discipline is practised in homes, schools and other environments where children are entrusted to adult care.

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DISCLAIMER: The Views, Comments, Opinions, Contributions and Statements made by Readers and Contributors on this platform do not necessarily represent the views or policy of Multimedia Group Limited.