Mom hacks son, 7, for sleeping in class

For sleeping in class, a 7-year-old boy was hacked in the arm by his mother  in  Daanbantayan town, northern Cebu last Tuesday afternoon.

The boy’s mother dropped by  the school  in sitio Pasil, barangay Maya, where her son is a grade 3 pupil.

There she saw him sleeping at his desk.

Irked, the 28-year-old mother took the boy  home, got a 13-inch knife and hacked his  left arm as punishment.

The mother’s younger brother pacified her and brought the wounded boy to the  barangay health clinic where he had stitches to close thes wound .

PO3 Clarita Natavio of the Women and Children’s Protection Desk (WCPD) of Daanbantayan Police said  the mother  expressed remorse for  losing her temper.

The woman  was detained overnight then released yesterday following appeals  made for her freedom by the husband and  son, who said they would not be filing charges .

Natavio said the boy approached her at the police station and pleaded to let his mother go home.

The mother was made to undergo a seminar on parenting and corporal punishment.

“We will continue visiting the house through our social workers to conduct more counseling,” Natavio said.

She said the family was going through financial problems.The father is  jobless and taking a welding class given by TESDA in their town.

This left the mother to pay all household bills with the little she makes  through a  ready-to-wear  clothes business. Her customers who pay by installment haven’t been making regular payments.

With all her problems, the mother  got irked when someone told her that her son was  not attentive in class and would sleep instead of listening to his lessons.

“She was at  school to pay for something. When she  checked on her  son in class, she noticed that he was sleeping and not participating at all,” said Natavio.  On the spur of the moment, the mother took him home to punish him.