Shouting as bad as smacking children

Shouting at children can be as harmful as smacking them because it dents their self-esteem and causes feelings of insecurity.

An eight-year study of nursery age children in Denmark found that they saw little difference between verbal and physical violence. The majority of youngsters said they frequently felt adults were angry with them long after they had finished shouting. Children often felt upset even when parents and teachers did not think they had raised their voices.

Erik Sigsgaard, of the Danish Centre for Research in Institutions, who conducted the research, said punishing children was wrong because it damaged their self-respect. He advised parents to discipline children in a normal voice.

Are cloth nappies no greener?

Parents who try to do their bit for the planet by putting their children into reusable nappies may be labouring in vain: scientists have calculated that cloth nappies are no better for the environment than disposable ones. Around seven million disposable nappies are used every day, and they are largest contributor to landfill sites, taking up between 2% and 8% of volume. However, re-using nappies has its own environmental costs, in the shape of the water, fuel and detergent it takes to wash and dry them. Now after a four-year study of 2,000 parents, the Environment Agency has concluded both types of nappies are about as bad as each other. “It’s not much use to solve a landfill problem only to create rising demand for energy and water”, said the Agency’s Martin Brocklehurst.

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