Time to keep the peace in fractured homes

Children from troubled families found more vulnerable to exploitations, besides being drawn into the world of crimes

Drawing parallels between two ill-fated toddlers in the district in two separate incidents separated by just eight days leaves one with eerie similarities.

Both were baby girls of somewhat similar age and were victims of broken families. Their custody was a matter of dispute between parents and were brutalised while being in the care of families that were supposed to take care of them.

The girl admitted to a private hospital at Kolenchery with serious injuries allegedly inflicted by her mother and grandmother in the early hours of February 28 had to be initially put on ventilator support. She was lucky enough though to survive and celebrate her third birthday on Wednesday, when she was discharged.

The other victim, a one-and-a-half-year-old girl, rushed to a private hospital in the city by her grandmother in the early hours of March 8 was not that fortunate. She was declared brought dead, allegedly drowned by her grandmother’s friend.

“The institution of family has undergone drastic change in our society and hence the cultural determinant of child being safer with the family needs to be revisited. In a warring family, children are often made targets to prove a point against each other. Yet, there is a fight for children’s custody winning which is perceived as a badge of victory rather than ensuring their well-being,” said noted psychiatrist C.J. John. He also called for revamping the prevailing system for evaluating the safety of young children and better facilities for their sheltering.

Children from broken families and caught in custody battles were found to be more vulnerable to exploitations. Particularly so in the case of girls.

“Denied of parental care and having no idea about the dignity attached to love, they can be easily manipulated by a cosmetic show of love. Getting introduced to drugs through such suspect affairs is also common. It takes months-long counselling to get them out of that rut,” said Joseph Parekkattil, director of Nirmal Nikethan Mukthi Sadan, a de-addiction centre for girls.