Strengthening the foundations of our society
For a healthy society in which the members are happy and productive, we should work hard on the building blocks who will become the citizens of the future-children. Home for a child is not only a sanctuary that shields him or her from the outside world but is also the first place where he or she is placed on a learning curve on which he or she will continue to travel throughout his or her life. Therefore, it is important to provide a safe environment to a child, a man or a woman so that they can have a cheerful environment for their optimal growth, both mentally and physically. It should also provide him/her the value education that will make them more responsible for the world.
However, if there is any tension in the home or there is a case of domestic violence, then the effect will have a catastrophic effect on the minds of the child that grows in such an insalubrious surrounding. A child is like a delicate flower that requires lots of effort by the parents to ensure that he or she blossoms to their fullest capacity. Currently, society and law enforcement agencies are not sensitive when dealing with domestic violence especially in third world countries and therefore its potentially harmful effects on the mind are not on the list of priorities for them. In India, where child right is a foreign concept to the teeming masses the priority that government or social organization give to the problem of a child getting affected in a domestic violence is minuscule.
There are several disturbing effects of domestic violence on children, which vary from the mildest form of anxiety to deep depression, which on the other extreme can also lead to suicide attempts. Domestic violence attacks the very sense of security of a child and he/she is always on the tenterhooks, not knowing what action of his/her could spark the situation. In most cases related to domestic violence, if there is a child present in the house, then he/she is likely to get very concerned about the safety of his/her mother and paradoxically as the child grows older he/she may lose his/her respect for the mother- the victim of domestic violence and vice versa. If the child is a boy, then it is likely that on growing up, he may also indulge in domestic violence and, if it is a girl, then she may think that it is only natural between husband and wife.
It is essential that in such a situation, the child needs to be taken out of the toxic environment immediately and the parents should be counseled about the deep impact of their behavior on their child. Only by making the home environment congenial, one can guarantee the safety of a child along with his/her development.
