CHILDREN BEATEN AND DOWN: Shocking Confessions of Serbian Parents

Only a small number of parents (3 percent for the previous year and 2 percent for the child’s life expectancy) stated that they used more severe forms of physical violence. Parents in this group typically hit the child somewhere else from the buttocks with something like a belt, brush, stick, or some other hard object (3 percent). Less than 2 percent of parents report very serious (extreme) forms of physical violence (hitting a child over and over with all their might; grabbing a child by the neck and strangling him; intentionally burning a child; threatening a child with a knife or gun).

The research was carried out by experts from the Institute of Psychology of the Belgrade Faculty of Philosophy and the Belgrade Institute of Mental Health with the support of UNICEF in the period from August 2019 to January 2020 on a sample of 1,186 parents who, in at the time of the study, they had children under the age of 18. .

– Mothers or guardians more frequently stated that they physically punish children, but they also participate more in developmental incentive activities than fathers. However, mothers have a significantly less positive attitude towards violent discipline compared to fathers and believe that corporal punishment does not have positive results, while fathers are more in favor of corporal punishment and consider it a disciplinary method with positive results . Unfortunately, most parents responded that they hit a child for the first time when they were between two and three years old (47 percent), according to the research.

UNICEF Serbia Director Dejana Kostadinova said that parenting is an important and challenging job and that parents need support to raise their children.

– We all know that parents love their children and want to see them grow up healthy and happy. But many of them, both fathers and mothers, need support to develop positive parenting skills and avoid the use of violence in parenting. Achieving zero tolerance for violence is a long road that requires commitment, patience and consistency, said the UNICEF director in Serbia.

Based on the research, the experts pointed out as one of the conclusions that the non-violent upbringing of children in the family should be part of a broader response within the protection of children against violence and abuse, including the prohibition Explicit corporal punishment in all settings, mandatory compliance with general protocol. violence and appropriate special protocols designed to protect children from abuse and violence.

(Blic.rs)