Embracing Cultural and Indigenous Approaches to Child Discipline: A Response to Corporal Punishment Outlawing in Zimbabwe

Abstract

There are undisputable commonalities among the world's cultures on how parenting is expressed; however, the expressions are context-defined and specific. Indigenous belief systems play a vital role in the expression of parenting practice within a given context. Zimbabwe and most African countries have been caught up in a child discipline dilemma ever since the outlawing of corporal punishment. This chapter, therefore, argues that culture and indigenous knowledge systems are of paramount importance in informing parenting approaches. It adopts a literature review methodology through a review of critical documents on the African cultural belief systems from a multicultural perspective. The role of communal approaches to child rearing as manifested by the extended family and the generational transfer of beliefs, ideas, and cultural practices have emerged as some of the key aspects in informing parenting from an indigenous perspective. Fusion of the modern approaches and indigenous parenting systems is therefore pivotal in addressing the parenting discourse.