#Iwillnot hashtag takes stand against spanking kids

The ECA and IAP meeting that was held last week

In order to curb the number of incidents pertaining to spanking children, educationists and psychologists in the city have come together to start a campaign called #Iwillnot. The movement is encouraging parents to post the hashtag on their social media accounts. There will also be seminars and street plays in schools to help the movement gain traction.

The campaign is a culmination of the efforts of Early Childhood Education (ECA) and Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP) that have joined forces following survey revelation that spanking kids continues to be common in a large number of Indian families. Experts believe that parents who hit their children are themselves suffering from emotional issues.

Furthermore, children who are spanked display aggressive tendencies themselves, according to experts. "We are also involving schools in the city; we'll ask them to report instances of spanking to us, so that we can reach out to the parents and provide them with adequate counselling, said Swati Popat, president of ECA.

Throwing more light on the subject, Dr Samir Dalwai, IAP, said, "Many children who get beaten up a lot are those who suffer from neurobehavioural problems like autism and ADHD. In such cases, parents are not able to accept their children for what they are. Then, there are parents who are suffering from a personality disorder themselves. In both cases, the problem needs to be evaluated."

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