Dr. Saad Al-Khatieb said this type of behavior is particularly prevalent among fathers, who want to develop their sons into what they define as “real men,” and they mistreat them to make them tough.

“A parent cannot make a child, for example, carry something heavy to make him tough, as it will at the same time harm his health. Or he cannot give him work which is not suitable for children,” said Al-Khatieb, a child psychiatrist at the Jeddah Psychiatric Hospital.

“If a child gets sick and the parents delay taking him to the doctor to force him to bear the pain because they think it will make him stronger, this is child abuse. This kind of treatment results in the child having a bad relationship with his parents and gives him a bad impression of life and society. This will make him become abusive towards others as he grows up.”

Some citizens told Arab News that they were mistreated in exactly the same way described by Al-Khatieb.

“My father used to beat me and made me feel like I was very stupid. He used to give me hard work to do to make me a tough man,” said Aboud Yousuf.

“I became tough but I also have a temper problem, I lose my temper quickly and I can’t help it. The smallest things make me fly into a rage, and as a teenager I used to get into brawls a lot.”

Makkia, who refused to give her last name, said her brother is so strict with his children that when he is around they practically act like robots out of fear.

“My brother is especially hard on his eldest son. When my brother is home the kids can’t even breathe comfortably. If they spill a glass of water he might turn the day into a nightmare for them,” she said.

Al-Khatieb said parents who treat their children in this way most likely received the same kind of treatment from their own parents, and so this sets off a cycle of abuse spanning generations.

“These parents need therapy. They need to be taught how to treat their children kindly because they might be suffering from psychological problems. Like for example, a mother or father who has a low source of income and doesn’t have enough money to pay the bills, so they might be angry and irritated most of the time and take out their anger on their children,” he said.

He added that there are fathers who get very angry if their sons do not hit back if another boy hits them.

“You’ll see the father complaining that his son is not tough. Or he’ll tell his son ‘if the other boy punches you once punch him 10 times.’ This is wrong, as the father is only encouraging the child to be violent.”

He added that this will not just harm the child and the parents, but society as a whole will suffer if there is violence. He said if a father wants to teach his son responsibility he should do it kindly and by giving him tasks that are reasonable based on his age.

“For example, he can give him money and ask him to run the home for a day to teach his son how to manage money, or he can tell him to take out his sister to the market or to an amusement park and take good care of her. However, this does not mean that he should be violent and hit anyone who looks at his sister, but he should be a responsible brother and bring her home safely. Children should be taught with kindness and never be deprived of essential needs.”

The doctor lauded family protection organizations in Saudi Arabia who he said were doing a good job tackling abuse.