The toddler had reportedly more than 50 injuries at the time of death. Two days before the baby died, he had a broken back, fractured ribs and was paralysed from the waist down. He had been punched so hard that he swallowed a tooth. The subsequent neck injury that affected his breathing was probably the fatal blow.
Among his other injuries, the baby's ears were torn, fingernails and fingertips were missing and his lips were ripped.
Perhaps death was better option than prolonged suffering for the 17 month old kid who bore the brunt of his brutal mother whose pastime was reportedly drinking alcohol, net surfing and pornography.
Though most of us would not thrash our kids to that extent, we do indulge because we think intimidation is the best way to handle kids.
I feel, thrashing kids reflects lack of time management and inability to handle our kid. We live amidst stress, time constraints, television, newspaper, networking, and so on. So if the kid comes in between, it gets thrashed.
For instance, a mother had brought the kid to play near the tank bund lake park. As she got busy on her mobile, the kid climbed the railing and was just a couple of seconds away from plunging into the water, 100 feet below. Fortunately, somebody grabbed the boy to safety in the nick of time. So how does the mother react? She thrashes the boy – perhaps to cover up her negligence. One would hardly expect a kid to know the consequences of jumping into the water.
I ask, do we need to beat our kids at all. We do not dare to beat just about anybody if they annoy or irritate us? Then why should we beat kids when they irritate us. Is it because we are stronger than them or is it because they are helpless and dependent on us.
If you can make your kid understand what should or should not be done without shouting or beating, then you can rate yourself for good parenting skills. Of course, even the best of kids tend to be stubborn or cranky at times. But still if you can bring the kid out of that loop - without beating or shouting - then you can rate yourself one scale higher.
Let us give kids independence from parental or rather “in-house thrashing”.
