Parenting can often times be quite stressful. For instance, what does a working parent do when children cause trouble such as forgetting to bring their stuff to school? “Hello, ma, can you please bring me my Science textbook at home? The teacher so scary one.” Major sigh. However, these forgetful incidents never roused reasonable parents to give their children a major whack… well, at least in Malaysia.
According to The Star, an 8-year-old girl from the Philippines was not able to go to school for a few days after her mother punished her by ordering her to kneel on embers. Wait, what?!
It was reported that she was punished for a perceived misdeed that the girl had done on June 24th, the Feast of St. John the Baptist. On that day, the children were dismissed early by their teacher so that they could celebrate the holiday by enjoying the rain.
Claire (not her real name) told the Inquirer what had happened to her.
After being let out early, she left her bag in the classroom, planning on getting it later. Unfortunately, the room was already locked when she came to get it back.
Source: Shutterstock
Since it was locked, what else could she do? The girl then decided to just return home, which was just a stone’s throw away from school.
The mother, however, suspected that her daughter was skipping class. She then told Claire to go back to school again and retrieve her bag.
The girl did so. And of course, the door was still locked.
Upon the girl’s return, still without her bag, the mother resorted to punishing her. She beat Claire with a hard object and got some burning firewood from the kitchen, where she was cooking. Following that, the girl was then forced to kneel on live embers too. Walao auntie, this is way too harsh no matter the wrong done la!
Source: Good Textures
The teacher only discovered what happened to Claire on Friday. She had been concerned about the girl’s unusual absence for the past couple of days. So, being a dedicated teacher, she decided to visit Claire’s home in Tukuran town.
There she saw Claire in pain, both of her knees badly burned.
The teacher then immediately contacted the Barangay Council, which is the respective legislative body of the rural areas in the Philippines, and the police to report her student’s condition.
Source: The Star
Tukuran Vice Mayor Delfina Cortina said the parents – who reportedly had a habit of beating their children – were summoned by the Barangay Council. There, the officials made the parents sign a document promising to stop abusing their child.
However, no action or statement of the incident had been made by the local social welfare and development office.
Claire is now temporarily sheltered by her grandparents for medication. Her four other siblings, on the other hand, are still with their parents.
Claire’s grandfather warned the child’s parents that they were being monitored by local authorities. And we certainly hope they heed the warning, because there really should have been official action in this case if you ask us!
We’re really sad to hear about what had happened to the girl. Even if you want to discipline your children to help them become a better person, there are always other methods that can be used. If you suspect a child is being abused, please do your part and inform Unicef at 15999.
Also read: Father Beats & Stabs 8yo Son as Punishment for Not Finishing Homework on Time
