Nursery World - Analysis: Campaign says 'no' to verbal abuse

Emotional mistreatment of children is the target of a new campaign offering support to troubled parents. Judith Napier reports.

NSPCC parenting adviser Eileen Hayes is adamant about the particular danger of emotional abuse. 'We need to be more respectful of our children. People now understand that you don't hit a child. They know it's wrong. But this is more of a challenge.'

Her comments come in support of the newly launched poster campaign by Scottish charity Children 1st designed to encourage parents to reject physical and verbal abuse of children in favour of a more positive approach.

The campaign is being run jointly with Scotland's Violence Reduction Unit. Detective chief superintendent John Carnochan, head of the unit, says, 'Everybody knows that children, young children in particular, imitate the behaviour of the person who looks after them. And if they learn to resolve conflict with violence or anger, then we should not be surprised to see them carry on that pattern of behaviour with their own children. Who among us wants to see that?

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