Report: Half of parents in Romania think hitting children is for their own good

One in two parents think hitting their children is for the kids own good, a survey of World Vision Romania Foundation found. At the same time, only one in ten parents would never hit their children, the same survey learnt. The report, titled Why do we hit children?, focused its analysis on attitudes towards violence and outlined seven typologies of parents in Romania who have a violent attitude towards their children. It also looked at the reasons parents invoke to justify hitting their kids. The seven typologies of parents justify the violence against their children as follows: 51% think hitting their children is for their kids own good, 1 in 10 think it is the children’s fault, 8% would hit their children but would not want this to be known, 8% have religious reasons for hitting their children, 6% hit their children for no reason, 5% hit their children because “this is how it’s done”, and 3% feel very guilty for hitting their kids. “Paradoxically, although Romanians think child violence is the third social problem in Romania, after extreme poverty and the quality of education, the report shows that more than half of the parents don’t consider a slap at the bottom to be a form of violence. Over 90% believe that it is a case of violence only when the beating causes bruises and scars, or when parents beat their child without reason,” Daniela Buzducea, National Director at World Vison Romania, said. The report also found that, although progress was made in the Romanians’ mentality about hitting their children, the violence against children is a persistent phenomenon. A total of 76% of the parents surveyed said they were subjected to violent behavior in childhood, thus suggesting the transmission between generations of violence against children. Moreover, 82% of parents relate to the saying “dirty laundry is washed at home”, one of the several in Romanian that justify hitting children. A total of 12% of the parents surveyed said the child deserves to be hit if they speak or behave badly and 9% said the child deserves this when they do not listen to their parents. The report is available in Romanian here. editor@romania-insider.com