To hit or not to hit
The other day, actually the other week, there were too really interesting items on the front in the local newspaper. The first article was about a man who had been convicted for assault. He had thrown a bad of nappies at his partner. He was given home detention for this crime. Fair enough. Violence of any kind is not acceptable.
Just below that article was another. It celebrated the fact that enough signatures had been collected a referendum about the so called “Anti-smacking” Act which removed the right of parents to smack children as a defence in the Crimes Act. This came about because New Zealand juries had thought it alright for parents to use horse whips, planks and hose pipe on their children. According to some people, these people are good parents and as such they should not be punished. Hmmm…
I wonder if many people noticed the irony of those two articles. It is not alright to throw nappies at adults. It is alright to hit children.
At times in the neighbourhood I live it, the last thing that some of my neighbours needed to hear was that it is alright to hit children. In fact to hit children is to be a good parent. As I listen to the yelling, and the sole use of hitting as discipline, I wonder what damage those who advocate smacking are doing to those families and to those children. It sickens me that so many of those who advocate smacking do so in the name of Christ.
It also appals me that so much damage is done simply to uphold a principle based on one or two verses in the Bible. It appals me that middle class people are doing this with so little thought to the consequences in neighbourhoods around the country. If they really did care about children, then they would be working hard to advocate for parenting methods that did not resort to violence, and to build families so that the levels of violence did not build to the point where violence becomes an accepted outlet.
But no, in the name of Christ, throwing nappies at adults is bad, hitting children is good. Yeah right!
Just below that article was another. It celebrated the fact that enough signatures had been collected a referendum about the so called “Anti-smacking” Act which removed the right of parents to smack children as a defence in the Crimes Act. This came about because New Zealand juries had thought it alright for parents to use horse whips, planks and hose pipe on their children. According to some people, these people are good parents and as such they should not be punished. Hmmm…
I wonder if many people noticed the irony of those two articles. It is not alright to throw nappies at adults. It is alright to hit children.
At times in the neighbourhood I live it, the last thing that some of my neighbours needed to hear was that it is alright to hit children. In fact to hit children is to be a good parent. As I listen to the yelling, and the sole use of hitting as discipline, I wonder what damage those who advocate smacking are doing to those families and to those children. It sickens me that so many of those who advocate smacking do so in the name of Christ.
It also appals me that so much damage is done simply to uphold a principle based on one or two verses in the Bible. It appals me that middle class people are doing this with so little thought to the consequences in neighbourhoods around the country. If they really did care about children, then they would be working hard to advocate for parenting methods that did not resort to violence, and to build families so that the levels of violence did not build to the point where violence becomes an accepted outlet.
But no, in the name of Christ, throwing nappies at adults is bad, hitting children is good. Yeah right!
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