The lead story in Tuesday's STAR was quite disturbing, to say the least.

According to the story, an eight-year-old child was reportedly almost strangled by her mother who tied a length of rope around her neck. If the accusations are true, it is clear that this mother is in need of some serious help.

The story also explained that the woman was going through a great deal of stress because of domestic issues. She reportedly accosted the child in anger after hearing that she had stolen something at school.

While we can understand that any parent would be disappointed and even disgraced by news that his/her child was stealing, such a reaction is simply unacceptable. A story such as this stresses the importance of good mental health and the need for proper crisis-management skills.

In all fairness, the child was wrong for doing what she did and definitely needed to be punished. However, such a punishment, as issued by the mother, is at the extreme end of the scale, as it placed the child's life and the mother's freedom at risk.

It is agreed universally that the children are our future, therefore, we need to do all we can in an effort to protect them, irrespective of their sometimes disappointing behaviour.