A Letter

I recieved this in the inbox today, and I though I would share it: As a parent of two young children, I am concerned with the current laws and apparent acceptance of violence against children in our society. There is no other group in our society that we are allowed to discipline by using “reasonable force”. Even my cat has more protection under current laws than my children have. It is the application of the law that has me most concerned. The legal loophole that allows a parent to use implements such as hosepipes and wood to “discipline” their children with and still call it “reasonable” is deplorable. The complete repeal of section 59 of the Crimes Act is what I believe is necessary to facilitate a change in the treatment of our children. Merely amending the Act would not achieve the same results as it would still allow the judicial system to interpret and apply the law. As a parent, I know the value of utilising alternative techniques to discipline (guide) my children. By employing positive parenting techniques in my family life, such as those identified by the SKIP (Strategies with Children, Information for Parents) programme, there is no need to use violence to gain control over my children’s behaviour. Instead, by using approaches such as encouragement and praise to reward the behaviours I want them to repeat, my children know exactly what I as their parent expect. Resorting to violence when the children do something “wrong” doesn’t teach them what it is that I expect from them, it only serves to teach them that violence is an acceptable way to treat others in society. The complete repeals of section 59 of the Crimes Act would send a message and facilitate a societal change that New Zealand does not condone the use of violence against children and that it is not a natural parenting tool to encourage compliance from our children. Coupled with the complete repeal of Section 59 of the Crimes Act, parents need access to positive parenting strategies that they can easily adopt. There has been much media hype surrounding this debate and the repeal of section 59 has been incorrectly referred to as a “ban on smacking”. The repeal of Section 59 will not create an environment where parents will be unnecessarily criminalised. What it will do is send a strong message on the value our children add to our society and that they can’t be victimised by the law any further. Yours sincerely Concerned Parent