Slapping children wrong, may lead to deafness – Paediatricians
Child health experts have warned parents against using harsh and violent measures when punishing their children.
The medical experts said parents should put a stop to slapping their children as a form of punishment, warning that it could lead to deafness.
According to the physicians, violently slapping a child could adversely impact a child’s entire life as the child could suffer permanent hearing loss.
A Consultant Paediatric Haematologist and Oncologist at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba, Prof. Edamisan Temiye, said harshly treating a child also increases the rate of aggression in society.
The paediatrician explained, “A child that is treated in a harsh and unfriendly manner is likely to repeat that in his or her children.
“Children who are from a friendly and loving family, usually are brighter and they express themselves more. And they contribute more positively to society than those children who come from those places where children are shouted at and beaten.
“When you slap a child and the eyeballs become turned, it is dangerous as it can cause injury to the child.
“The child may eventually develop deafness from that for life. When you slap a child and injure the middle ear, if it is not treated properly, the child can become deaf from it.”
Prof. Temiye said it was unacceptable for parents to also starve their children of food as a form of punishment, describing the act as cruel.
The child health expert noted that not allowing children to express themselves is not good at all.
He said, “From childhood, you should allow a child to express himself or herself. And correct them with love when they are wrong. There are many ways of correcting them without shouting at them.
“You can correct your child without inflicting injury on him or her both physically and psychologically. And that is what we should learn.
“When we threaten them not to talk, they become timid, and become a timid adult, and at the end of the day, society will not benefit from it.
“Harshly treating a child affect their psychological development and their ability to contribute to the growth of the society.”
According to the United Nations Children’s Fund, shouting and hitting children simply do not work and can do more harm than good in the long run.
