The characters passed by the children of nowadays which could attract beaten in the olden days are as follows;
- Crying too long after being beaten
- Not crying after being beaten
- Crying without being beaten
- Standing where elders are sitting
- Sitting while elders are standing
- Walking around aimlessly where elders are seated
- Eating food prepared for visitors
- Refusing to eat
- Coming back home after sunset
- Eating at the neighbour’s home
- Generally being too moody
- Generally being too excited
- Losing a fight with an older age mate
- Winning a fight with your age mate
- Eating too slowly
- Eating too quickly
- Eating too much
- Not finishing your food
- Finishing your food and scraping your plate
- Eating and talking
- Sleeping while the elders in the house have already woken up
- Looking at the visitors while they are eating
- Stumbling and falling when walking
- Looking at an elder eye ball to eye ball
- When an elder is talking to you and you blink
- When an elder is talking to you and you stare and do not blink
- When you look at an elder from the corner of your eye
- When your mates are playing street football and you join them
- When your mates are playing and you don’t join them
- When you don’t wash your dish after eating
- When you wash your dish improperly
- When you almost break your dish
- When you break your dish
- When you bite your nails.
34.. When you don’t bathe. - When you bath too quickly
- When you take too long to bathe.
- When you’ve been beaten in school for misbehaving
- When a car almost knocks you down
- When a car knocks you down and you don’t die.
- For not answering when spoken to
- For answering back when spoken to.
42 Beaten for going to Church or Mosque late. - Beaten for borrowing shoes/wears from friends.
- Giving salt or needle to neighbours without their permission.
I think one of the major reasons why children of these days get spoilt earlier is that the parents don’t want them to face what they faced while growing up.
Some of these reasons for beating a child may appear farfetched today but they sure did happen and they were the norms that shaped a Child to grow responsibly.
Nwachineke Onyeke Chekwube reporting, Obinwannem news writer/ 15th March, 2023
