TAIPEI (TVBS News) — The Executive Yuan (行政院) announced plans on Thursday (Nov. 29) to amend the Civil Code (民法), removing parents' rights to discipline children within necessary limits and banning physical and mental violence against children. This amendment will proceed to the Legislative Yuan (立法院) for further review.
The initiative aims to foster a healthier environment for children by encouraging parents to replace reprimands with encouragement. The revision of Article 1085 emphasizes respect for a child's personality, considering their age and developmental stage, to prevent any form of physical and mental violence.
While some parents agree that hitting or scolding is unnecessary, they question the need for legislation, believing no parent would intentionally harm their child. Experts observe that the new generation of parents often employs persuasion rather than corporal punishment for behavior correction.
Lin Yueh-chin (林月琴), a parent-child expert, underscores that emotional abuse can be as damaging as physical abuse, advocating for communication and behavior modification techniques in child education. She suggests that if a child misbehaves during play, parents can pause the activity for a few minutes and communicate with the child to achieve corrective effects without punishment.