Three medical experts on Wednesday in Lagos said that persistent shouting by parents at children would hinder their development psychologically, emotionally and socially.
They said that shouting at children was common in the Nigerian society, and that many parents wrongly perceived it to be right way of correcting children.
The experts spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria.
A Consultant Paediatrician, Dr. Mohammad Salisu, said that persistent shouting could be detrimental to a child’s growth.
Salisu said: “Persistent shouting at children will make them to feel reluctant to do things that will help them to grow well.
“Some of the children may refuse to eat well, they may refuse to socialise and may even become violent toward other children.
“Some parents say certain things they do not mean when they shout at their children, thereby make them to feel neglected and unloved.”
Salisu, who works with the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, urged parents to be careful with the words they say to their children in order to prevent depression.
He said: “Parents have to pay attention to what they say to their children.
“Parents think that since they are not hitting the children, the words are not creating any damage, but, it may create psychological damage.”
A private medical practitioner, Dr. Maymunah Kadiri, told NAN that shouting could make a child to lose self esteem and confidence.
“As much as possible, shouting at a child should not be encouraged,” Kadiri, a Consultant Psychiatrist at the Pinnacle Medical Centre, Ikoyi, said.
She advised parents to discuss issues with their children instead of shouting at them.
She said: “A parent can be pushed to the wall because a child has done something wrong, but such a parent is also not helping the child.
“The child will get used to the shouting and may become even violent toward the parent.”
Kadiri said that shouting could create a communication gap between parents and children and weaken the bond between them.
A general physician, Dr. Henry Onyia, told NAN that repeated shouting at children could instill fear in them.
Onyia, who works with the Jaycee Hospital, Surulere, Lagos, described shouting as an abuse that could affect a child’s life up to adulthood.
He said: “Children are vulnerable and need their parents to guide them as they grow to come in terms with their identity.
“Shouting at them will make them to develop fear and that can limit their perception about life generally.
“It can also make them to be afraid of taking risks.”