KANSAS CITY, Mo. — This weekend, a Kansas City nonprofit will host a workshop for parents, predominately living in the area, on how to raise children using nonviolent forms of discipline.
The World Health Organization reports around60% of children in the world between the ages of 2-14 experience physical punishment.
Evidence shows corporal punishment leads to behavioral problems among children and can also lead to an increase in poor education outcomes, aggression and can perpetuate even more violence among children, according to WHO.
"Corporal punishment is something that is pretty commonly used in disciplining children, and we want to give people a new perspective, giving them an opportunity to learn about how to raise children differently," said Susana Elizarraraz, deputy director at Latinx Education Collaborative.
Latinx Parenting and the Latinx Education Collaborative are spearheading Saturday's workshop, "Terminando con la Cultura de La Chancla," which translates to "ending the flip flop culture.
A 2019 study by the National Library of Medicine shows corporal punishment is predominantly used among Hispanic households. Thus, the upcoming workshop aims at helping Latinx parents find other options.
"The premise of the workshop is to give folks information about anti-violence parenting on how to discipline and do parenting, maybe a little differently than a lot of us were raised, and so that's what the workshop is all about," Elizarraraz said.
Set to take place at 10 a.m. Saturday at PH Coffee, the workshop is open to the community.
Parents like Miriam Gallan have already signed up to take part in the discussion. As a Hispanic woman who wasn't physically disciplined as a child, she wants other parents to learn about alternative options.
"I feel like, emotionally, some children grow up different because I didn't get hit, I didn't have that fear thinking if I messed up I would get hit," Gallan said. "You should have the confidence to talk to your parent or mother about behavior and how to better it."
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