Speaking from experience…
CORPORAL punishment did not make me a bad person but neither did it make me a better person, says Faith Foo, a licensed and registered counsellor at Rekindle Therapy.
“The experience was definitely humiliating. It created an opportunity for teasing and bullying. The child becomes an easy target. Most importantly, punishment almost always brings about negative experiences.
“The experience of sitting in the school compound under the sun is in itself about shaming the child. It does not help a child to develop into an adult with self-discipline and respect for other people. Instead, it distorts sound judgement and creates anti-social behaviours. Moreover, what if the child has serious health issues?”
Growing up with an overprotective mum, Foo confesses that she was afraid to make her own decisions, afraid to take risks and had a lot of self-doubt.
“I found it hard to trust my own judgement and I became timid. It took years of understanding myself, going through therapy, and attending to that wounded inner child to gain self-confidence.”
Foo says as children reach their teens, they often test boundaries.
“This can lead to greater risk-taking behaviour. Teenagers may end up participating in drinking, drug abuse or early sexual activities. Research on teens with overprotective parents has found that they are more anxious, less socially skilled, have poorer coping skills and higher rates of depression. In addition, they don’t transition to college well.
“The sad irony is that overprotective parents act in this way out of a strong need for their children to be successful by protecting them from harm or failure.”