Dear Governor Perry:

Like many Canadians and Americans, I was shocked to hear about the way that Judge William Adams beat his young daughter with a belt. What makes it worse is that his daughter, Hillary, has a disability. I would have thought this type of incident would have taken place in China, where the video of an eight-year-old being hit and having his hands crushed by an adult in the middle of the street has gone viral on the internet. No matter what offences these children committed, the punishments they received have no place in a so-called civilized society.

Unfortunately, violence as a way of rearing children dates back many years, forming part of an outdated belief system. In fact, it is difficult to put a stop to this type of violence because there are still so many people who support it as an effective education tool.

I say “attempting” because all modern studies, based on the most recent scientific evidence in fields like paediatrics, psychoanalysis and child psychiatry, show that violence is not actually an effective way of rearing children. In fact, it can cause problems for children on the receiving end: at best, violence can hinder their growth and success, and at worst it can disrupt society, a cost that has always been underestimated.

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