Domestic Violence and the Education of the Nigeria Pre – School Child

Abstract

Literature tells us about three different views of children each relating to different era of civilization. Thefirst is during the Greco – Roman times. During this period children were taken to be miniature adultand this depicted in the acts and paintings of that period. Children were not accorded any specialstatus. As miniature adults, they were allowed to work on the fields and farms with little or noattachments to parents.The second is the medieval period. With the decline of the Greco-Roman civilization, Christianity cameto the fore. Under the religious tenets, man was born evil and so children were regarded as sinful,immoral and therefore their sinful nature needed to be exorcised through religious teachings andpractices. As sinners, children were seen to be bad creatures and were subjected to various kind ofpunishment aimed at purging off their sinful nature.Thirdly, is the age of enlightenment which emerged with the decline of the church. One the greatphilosophers of the time – John Locke (1632 – 1604), believed that a child’s mind was a Tabular Rasa– a blank tablet on which experiences write, thereby determining the child’s future. According to Locke,children were not innately bad but required adult-directed experiences to become good adult in future.Locke’s proposition was opposed by another notable psychologist – Jean Jacques Rousseau (1712 –1778).