COPENHAGEN, Denmark (Reuters) - When parents are driven mad by badly behaved children, most do not smack them and instead give them a telling-off. But verbal abuse could be as harmful as beating, according to new Danish research.
Psychologists have long known that children who have been beaten are prone to low self-esteem and insecurity in later life. Little research has been done, though, into the effects of scolding.
"The feeling of self-respect is hurt when you are punished in one way or another," said Erik Sigsgaard, the researcher into teaching at the Danish Center for Research in Institutions, who carried out the study.
As part of the study, children at a nursery were observed and interviewed in the 1994-2002 period.
...
