Cases of child abuse consultation hit record 42,600 in FY 2008

Wednesday 15th July, 06:44 AM JST

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Disillusioned at 08:34 AM JST - 15th July

My question is, how do the Japanese define child abuse? Is it just by physical abuse? Sadly, there are more sinister forms of child abuse like, sleep deprivation due to homework and juku attendance, character assassination and starvation, but these are just part of the culture. My personal favorite is the standard practice of the smack on top of the head, which is in itself, is a form of abuse. Too many times I've seen women and men lash out at their kids (in public) belting them on the head or across the face for little more reason than the parent being peeved, which makes me wonder what sort of abuse these kids cop at home. I agree with Sharky, this is only the tip of the iceberg. Now, let's wait for all the, "my parents hit me when I was a kid, but I'm alright' posts. Maybe, just maybe, you'd be even better if your parents didn't hit you at all.
Inakadazebaby at 08:55 AM JST - 15th July

Thanks Disillusioned. I agree with many of the things you say about the types of abuse outside of the physical. Though I must say I am of the "my parents smacked me when I was a kid" people. My parents never gave me any bruises, never hit me anywhere but on the bottom and the number of times I was threatened with a smack was greater than the number of smacks I received. I do not feel that I was abused. It was part of learning the lesson that when you do something wrong you will be punished for it. When a small child does something wrong the most effective way of teaching them it is wrong is with a smack. You can not reason or explain why things are bad to small children. When my child does something they shouldn't I will smack them. Not to hurt them, but to teach them the difference between right and wrong.
Disillusioned at 10:18 AM JST - 15th July

When a small child does something wrong the most effective way of teaching them it is wrong is with a smack.

Sorry, I have to totally disagree with this comment. When a small child does something wrong the easiest way of teaching them it is wrong is with a smack. Simple minds have simple solutions. It may surprise people to know that a child knows right from wrong before they are one year old, however, they don't understand why their parent feels it necessary to inflict pain on them for simply exploring their boundaries. "Every action has a positive and negative reaction." You hit your kids they hit you or other kids. You scream at your kids they scream at you. You talk to your kids and they talk to you. Three tones of voice is sufficient for disciplining any kid regardless of age. I recommend all parents read 'Taming Toddlers' by Dr. Green. You will learn more about yourselves than disciplining kids.
sammuraisteve at 10:52 AM JST - 15th July

When a small child does something wrong the most effective way of teaching them it is wrong is with a smack.

As a father of two I disagree entirely! This never works. It never has and never will!
cleo at 11:03 AM JST - 15th July

It was part of learning the lesson that when you do something wrong you will be punished for it.

The downside of that lesson of course is that it also teaches, If you don't get caught you get away with it.

When a small child does something wrong the most effective way of teaching them it is wrong is with a smack. You can not reason or explain why things are bad to small children.

All it teaches them is that mum or dad is peeved about something. If you cannot reason or explain why things are bad, how can you expect to be able to reason or explain why the kid just got thumped? Hitting kids because they don't behave as you want them to simply teaches them that violence is a means to an end.

I also recommend Dr. Green's book.
translator300 at 11:06 AM JST - 15th July

I once met a woman that answered the abuse consulation telephone lines who said that of reports of sexual abuse by parents, the majority was troubled boys worryied about doing xyz with their mother.
gbdru2 at 12:19 PM JST - 15th July

Weird how times and people change. When I was younger I used to get so frustrated at my parents for not smacking my brother. He'd act up and in my mind, reasoning and explanation were the last things he needed. "smack 'im round the ear, that'll learn im"..

Now, as a parent, there's no way I'd ever hit either of my two. The posters are right, the only thing leading from smacking is more smacking, more frustration and more conflict. Its far easier to explain and demonstrate good behaviour with attitude and reason.

If any of you really consider it appropriate to hit a child, you really should take a long hard look at yourself...
familywrongs at 01:44 PM JST - 15th July

Many of the commenters here have no idea about real "abuse". Granted, corporal punishment isn't effective, but it also isn't particularly abusive. The real abuse happens in "free", "democratic" countries like UK and USA - by the so-called child protection authorities. Just recently, several children were removed for adoption during an RSPCA raid because the parents failed to "cooperate" with the investigation. I tried to advise a single father who had not in any way abused his young son, but he was deemed to be incapable of "cooperating" with the authorities because he had a form of autism (so say the experts). The boy has been sent to Denmark for adoption. In UK, over 50,000 children are removed from their families every year for "emotional abuse" (i.e. shouting, parents arguing loudly), or "neglect" (i.e. homeschooling, skipped breakfasts, coming late to school, unwashed underpants, etc.). The more well-adjusted kids (i.e. most of them) are put up for adoption. The family courts meet in secret, parents are jailed if they approach the media or try to publicize their cases, and there is no public scrutiny or accountability. The really abused kids (like "Baby P" or Victoria Climbie) are overlooked because it requires too much effort. There is more funding for removing healthy, well-loved kids than there is for tackling the root cause of the problem: poverty. I hope the Japanese are more family friendly. Issues about child rearing and appropriate "socialization" is best dealt with through public education programs on TV or magazine articles.
Inakadazebaby at 01:47 PM JST - 15th July

Disillusioned do you always feel the need to put down others with whom you do not agree? Simple minds have simple solutions was it? So I guess everything requires a complex solution then does it? How about those who disagree with me realise that there are alternative styles of parenting. As disillusioned mentioned if there are so many people who say, "my parents hit me when I was a kid, but I'm alright", then why is that?
griff at 02:06 PM JST - 15th July

has anyone posted a link to this story on the akihabara item yet?
cleo at 02:10 PM JST - 15th July

if there are so many people who say, "my parents hit me when I was a kid, but I'm alright", then why is that?

If they've grown up to be people who hit their kids, then they can hardly be said to be 'alright'. And let's not forget 'hitting' a kid covers everything from a light tap on the shoulder to get his attention (harmless) to smacking (mainly ineffective, but possibly painful) to beatings leaving welts and bruises on the body (abuse whichever way you look at it).
herefornow at 02:37 PM JST - 15th July

As usual, Kyodo News and/or JT have only skimmed the surface of the issue with this story. The key point missing from this article is that of these 42,600 cases, only 28 resulted in the authorities even requiring the parents to even come in for a consultation. (See today's Daily Yomiuri) That's like 6/100's of 1%. So, get into semantic arguments if you like about what constitutes abuse, but the real news here is that, as usual, Japan has a major and worsening social problem, and they are doing nothing more than study it and report about it.
boboh at 05:32 PM JST - 15th July

familywrongs

So where do you draw the line then? How do you determine a child is being abused? Sure, physical scars/bruises/cuts etc are easy to see, but the psychological/emotional abuse.... its someones word against the other persons and that other person is the parent. I think child protection agencies should take a "worst case scenario" policy to all cases they come across, not take ANY chances, and take appropriate action, including removing the child from the parent/s altogether.... because, if they don`t, there will be even more abused and murdered children, in ALL countries.

Interesting post, herefornow.
kirakira25 at 08:06 PM JST - 15th July

Griff - I was just thinking the same thing! Everyone loves to bleat on about how Japan has much lower cases of child abuse than elsewhere. Not at all - just much lower REPORTED cases of child abuse.

OK - wait for the "evidence???" brigade to jump up now.

I have only smacked my children in cases of imminent danger - like I smacked my sons hand away as he was reaching for a hot stove. I smacked his bum once when he was messing around near a busy road and would not stand back - I went for the shock factor to get him to listen to me and instantly felt terrible so I explained to him straight away why I had to smack him and asked him whether playing near a busy road was good or bad, etc. He understood and now he is much better.

If you count emotional abuse as child abuse (and I am NOT saying it isn't very damaging) then I think pretty much everyone in the world is a victim! To quote the great Phillip Larkin: "They f%&$ you up, your Mum and Dad". We just do the best we can not to make the same mistakes our parents did, but in doing so we make a whole load of new ones. Hopefully, as we learn by generation things get better though. Although maybe not in the case of the hairdryer-burned 2 year old.
BeaverCleaver at 09:49 PM JST - 15th July

kirakira25, Griff-the Akihabara thing is not related. The only thing related to that would be sex abuse, and remotely at that. This is about abuse in general.

However, there too, I have not seen the evidence to suggest Japan is worse than anywhere else, not with numbers or my own eyes. All the places I have lived in Japan seem better than where I grew up, and I have dealt with kids ever since I started working here. The press has to run child abuse stories for lack of more "exciting" stories.

About smacking: I am with kirakira25. Smacks are ok when you simply do not have time to explain or think of a better way due to imminent danger, or you really need it to sink in immediately, such as replacing the pain of death with a simple smack. It won't do you any good to try positive reinforcement on a kid that has been killed in a car accident as you let him explore the road for ignoring his attempts to play there.

Naturally, no smack should be brutal though and never from anger.

But of course, if you have the time and there is no danger, there are other methods of guidance and control a parent should be aware of and utilize. But it is always astounding to see people stand up and quickly declare the ways that got us to today as being fundamentally incorrect and patently wrong. Surely, there is room for improvement, but don't be so cocksure. A lot of the smacks I got growing up were extremely appropriate. Some were not, but nobody is perfect.