Violence in households, schools and communities costs the country up to R42.4-billion a year. The exposure of children to violence used as a means of problem-solving increases the likelihood that they will grow up to engage in violent behaviour.This is according to an Institute for Security Studies report, released yesterday, on a study that looked into how parents can lessen violence.The institute's Chandré Gould said harsh and inconsistent parenting - a child's transgression being overlooked one week and resulting in a beating the next - was a significant contributor to violent behaviour in children."There is a direct relationship between this kind of parenting and children's feelings of anxiety and depression, violence and aggression," said Gould."[This sort of parenting] affects their ability to achieve at school, to make friends, and ultimately it is going to affect their employability."Corporal punishment continues unabated because many parents condone, and even encourage, its use at home and school."If we are going to address development needs in South Africa, [and allow] every child to reach its potential, we need to address what is happening in the home," said Gould.The Institute for Security Studies report states that violence puts strains on health systems, lowers economic productivity and has an adverse effect on social development.Between 2013 and 2014, 47 people were murdered every day in South Africa, a rate five times higher than the global average.The number of children below the age of five murdered in South Africa is more than double that of other mid- and lower-income countries, in which an average of three children are murdered daily.Panellists from the SA Medical Research Council and the University of Cape Town agreed that policy-makers should implement counter-violence measures that have been proved effective by scientific investigation...