Every country have outlined laws and policies that regulates the conducts of parents and their children relationship. The word child abuse is nothing new to anyone, such laws are created to prevent parents from using extreme measures on their children in disguise of discipline but then the activeness of such laws depends on the level at which a specific country values a child's right. Truth be told, there are already availability of laws that allows children to take legal actions against their parents in most developing countries, I have read some stories on paper while there are others that came as stories from a relative or a friend. Some of this allegations brought up by some children might be as little as a slap on the chin and they report their parents for abusing them, the potency of such laws in developed countries is something I value but the hypocrisy behind petty allegations against innocent parents is something I detest about this policy.
In the country where I'm from such laws are less potent, which is where tradition sets in. We are still of the strong belief in the doctrines of the Bible that says; he who spares the rod hates their child and he who loves their children enough disciplines their child. I come from the west part of Nigeria, where I'm from when a child does something inappropriate they are given punishments that is befitting of their crimes, this is not something parents enjoy doing but it is just something to remind a child of the need for them change from their dubious attitudes, some listen and some don't but you can't really blame a parent for trying. There are some measures some parents make use of that feels they might kill the child but then it is a tradition around here.
When you say would it be okay if children were given the rights to sue their parents whenever they feel like, even for minor issues such as parents discipline their child? I already stressed that such laws already exist in some developing countries where a child can just walk up to any police station and report their parents for abuse. I mean it could be something as minor as just punishing a child for the crimes they commit but then the parents would have to face serious charges of child abuse especially if there are physical bruises on the child. That is why parents in such countries find it extremely difficult to lay hands on their children, you can't really predict what the child next move would be even if the parent intention is noble.
If such laws were to be effective around here, for a start a lot of parents will be going back and forth from prison to their homes as of they going to market because around here we spank children a lot, using all kids of inventive methods. So when you say will it be okay for a child to sue their parents for disciplining them I would say it depends on the situation. I have seen some parents use some extreme measures on their children that are not necessary at all, I mean I have heard of cases of a parent pouring hot water on a child, I know some children can drive their parents crazy but some measures are just out of the equation. There is a limit to how you can discipline a child, in such a case if there is availability of such law and a child choose to sue their parents I wouldn't see anything wrong about that.
But then in a case where we have a parent discipline their child the right way, though spanking might be involved but not beyond what is considered normal and a child feels like since there is availability of a law that allows a child to sue their parents even for petty things and decides to use that against their parents, I wouldn't consider that as something okay. To an extent I would say children from where I'm from, who are a product of being disciplined by their parents are a lot batter than children in those so called developing countries where the act of disciplining a child is considered an offence. I have some relatives in other countries and occasionally when they come home for family gatherings, the way they talk to their parents is something we can never try.
What do you think such world would feel like? For a country such as mine that is rich in culture and one of our most valuable cultural heritage is respect. A child's respect for their parents is something that is not negotiable but in a world where a child feels it is within their power to sue their parents for any minor issues including the act of discipline, with such power placed in the hands of the minors, I definitely guarantee that it will be misused if not regulated. I can't even imagine myself as a parent being scared of disciplining my child. Even with the act of disciplining a child we still have a lot of untrained kids on the street constituting nuisance in the neighbourhood, now imagine a world without it.
Thinking about the possibility of I being in a position of taking suing my parents to court is something I don't want to imagine but if there is something I'm sure about is taking parents to court is something that can never happen, my parents are one of the good ones. I wouldn't say everything they did over the years I agree with but I can definitely agree to the fact that it was for my own good, moreover around here we don't do such things which means at some point in a country such as mine, in most homes tradition will prevail over legalities.
This write-up was inspired by weekly featured content titled "To sue your parents" in hive learners community.
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