Plan International,
European Union, and LGUs to sign MOU to promote Positive Child
Discipline in Eastern Samar
By HAZEL BITAÑA
November 3, 2014
BORONGAN CITY, Eastern
Samar – This Thursday, Nov. 6, the local governments of Maydolong
and Llorente will sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Plan
International and European Union to promote positive and non-violent
discipline of children.
The MOU strengthens the
commitment of the local government units (LGUs) to work with the
global child rights organization, Plan International, in implementing
the “Collective Action to Promote Non-Violent and Protective Society
for Children,” a project funded by the European Union and implemented
in partnership with the Philippine Legislators’ Committee on
Population Development Foundation (PLCPD) and Lihok Pilipina
Foundation.
The project, dubbed as the
“Positive Discipline Project,” is a three-year initiative that aims to
help families, teachers, barangay officials, and other members of the
community to stop abusive child disciplining practices such as
spanking, pinching, and humiliation. Instead, adults are encouraged to
practice non-violent means of guiding children’s behavior such as
reprimanding the children privately and explaining the difference
between right and wrong.
“In the Philippines,
corporal punishment is a prevalent practice in disciplining children,
but it is a form of physical and psychological violence. Positive
discipline is a parenting approach that guides the children while
respecting their rights,” says Jayson Lozano, Project Manager of Plan
International.
In a study commissioned by
Plan International and European Union in 2011, 75% of the parents said
that they use corporal punishment to discipline their children.
However, corporal punishment lowers the children’s self-esteem,
promotes violence, and weakens the bond between parents and children.
Corporal
Punishment in Eastern Samar
Based on the baseline
research of the project, almost 40% of the surveyed parents in Eastern
Samar use physical means of disciplining their children. These include
spanking the children’s bottom, hand, arms, or legs; hitting the
children’s bottom with an object; and pinching.
At the moment, there is no
officially reported case of corporal punishment in the area. Yet,
there are reports of physical abuse, violence, or injury that may be
cases of corporal punishment, especially if the motive was to
discipline the child. This lack of data maybe attributed to the
aggregation of corporal punishment cases to the child abuse reports.
It may also be because the issue is viewed as a private matter.
The
Positive Discipline Project in Eastern Samar
