A 60-year-old man assaulted a seven-year-old girl, grabbed her ears and threatened her with a small knife, too, recently.

While complaints have been filed in all the cases, people need to control their temper and react appropriately when it involves small children.

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Talking to the child or even to the parents or a guardian is the way to go ahead. We cannot be hitting children because one is irked or disturbed by their playing near home or another issue.

There must also be some understanding that children fight and get into arguments with other kids in playgrounds, for toys, etc. It is better that they resolve the problem or gentle, sensible intervention is what is needed.

Children who have suffered this abuse tend to be psychologically affected and develop significant fear and distress. This needs to be addressed by parents or caretakers and the child personally or professionally counselled out of the current mindset brought about by the violence.

Adults often do not fully comprehend the effect of this reaction on children, and are dismissive or scornful in fact when people point that out.

Patience, understanding and dialling back anger or rage is important.