Being a male does not mean that they have to show their power by abusing their partner. When a child sees their father abusing the mother or if he is physically harming the mother this way they are learning from their parents and it’s obvious that they can repeat the same mistakes of their parents in future

Syeda Eman Fatima

Parents think that fighting behind closed doors does not affect their children’s mental health but it is not true. Children who are facing domestic violence are having bad impact on their mental health. Even if they do not see the violence, they can hear it and feel it. Parents do not realize it and when they do it’s too late because domestic violence has already affected the mind of children.  Even if the child is not seeing the domestic violence, he can sense it.

Children who suffer from domestic violence may face certain abnormalities such as mental health ,  depression, anxiety, aggression and they might isolate themselves. Domestic violence does not only affect the children but also the babies who are inside the wombs of their mothers.

If we talk about Pakistan females are the ones who are victims of domestic violence. Being a male does not mean that they have to show their power by abusing their partner. When a child sees their father abusing the mother or if he is physically harming the mother this way they are learning from their parents and it’s obvious that they can repeat the same mistakes of their parents in future. A child needs a home where they can feel safe, secure, and can trust their parents.

CHILDREN MENTAL HEALTH IS AS IMPORTANT AS THEIR PHYSICAL HEALTH!!

Children learn from parents whatever their parents do in the home they are learning from it and being a parent is a huge responsibility to provide your child an abuse free home or a home where they should not witness any violence. If they see domestic violence on regular basis, they cannot focus on their studies which can affect their grades.

Adverse childhood experiences, a landmark study published in 1990s, in which they examined a relationship between the child abuse. The study showed that the child who is facing domestic violence had higher risk of behavioral and mental health issues.

To all the parents who engage in domestic violence and according to them domestic violence and abusing their partner is their right and who are not concerned about their children’s mental health it’s time to stop the violence and to raise the voice against domestic violence because violence is not acceptable at any cost. Teach your children that domestic violence is not an answer of a fight. They should not abuse their partners but should compromise and understand each other to avoid domestic violence and this is how you can protect your child’s mental health.

The writer is a student of BS Mass Communication final semester at the NUML.