THE SUPREME Court has warned parents that excessive discipline that harms a child’s dignity is considered child abuse.

At the same time, the SC reiterated that disciplining children, even if it results in physical injuries, does not automatically amount to child abuse.

In a decision penned by Associate Justice Jhosep Lopez, the SC’s Second Division upheld the conviction of a father for child abuse after subjecting his 12-year-old daughter and 10-year-old son to violent and excessive discipline.

From 2017 to 2018, the father beat his children, including kicking his daughter, pulling her hair, striking her with a wooden rod with a nail, hitting them with a dustpan, and cursing at them repeatedly.

The father claimed these actions were meant to discipline his children for misbehavior, such as failing to eat lunch and losing money from their coin banks.

The Regional Trial Court and the Court of Appeals both found the father guilty of violating Republic Act No. 7610, or the Special Protection of Children Against Abuse, Exploitation, and Discrimination Act.

Under Section 3(b) of RA No. 7610, any act that debases, degrades, or demeans a child’s dignity is considered child abuse.

The father appealed to the SC, arguing that he had no intention of harming his children’s dignity.

However, the SC ruled that his actions went beyond reasonable discipline, showing a clear intent to harm the children’s dignity.

The SC emphasized that while parents have the right to discipline their children, such measures must not be violent, excessive, or disproportionate to their misbehavior.

The SC noted that without this specific intent, the offender cannot be held liable for child abuse but can be charged with other crimes under the Revised Penal Code.

The father was sentenced to four to six years in prison and fined.