Veteran Ghanaian actress and broadcaster, Grace Omaboe, popularly known as Maame Dokono, has sparked national conversation after strongly advocating for the return of corporal punishment in both homes and schools.
Speaking at the ‘Convergence of Mothers’ forum hosted by media personality MzGee in Accra, the renowned screen legend lamented what she described as a troubling decline in discipline among today’s youth.
Drawing on her personal experiences as a mother of six, Maame Dokono argued that firm discipline, including physical correction, is necessary to raise morally upright children.
“Back in the day, I never spared the rod when raising my children. I disciplined them when necessary and praised them when they behaved well. That’s how parenting should be,” she stated emphatically.
She recalled how, in years past, both schools and communities took collective responsibility for instilling discipline in children, and corporal punishment was a norm widely accepted as a corrective measure, rather than abusive.
“When a child went astray, four boys would hold them while they were caned, it was a way to drum sense into them.
These days, they tell us not to beat children. We need to bring that back,” Maame Dokono said to a round of applause from sections of the audience.
The celebrated actress and social commentator blamed the growing rate of youth indiscipline and moral decay on the abandonment of traditional disciplinary approaches.
She emphasized the need for Ghanaian society to revisit cultural values that once held families and communities together.