NZ parents retain right to smack?

Parents in New Zealand will retain the right to discipline their children with a smack after political leaders reached a compromise in a debate that has divided the country.

Supporters of what has become known as the anti-smacking bill, including Labour Prime Minister Helen Clark, say New Zealand needs to take some responsibility for its appalling record of violence towards children.

Miss Clark says police discretion to determine what constitutes reasonable parental discipline and what is assault was always implicit in the bill.

It has now been spelt out explicitly under the amendment.

"There has been no desire at all to see decent, good parents marched into court for something that is inconsequential," Ms Clark said.

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Dear Ms Clark,

It is not a matter of marching, decent, good parents into court. It's a matter of leading by example. Violence does not win and smacking children is the root cause of domestice violence.

There are no laws that allow people to smack anyone else. Why children? If parents learn better parenting skills then they would never use smacking to teach their children a lesson.


NZ parents retain right to smack?

Baby shaking sentence 'too lenient'

A child advocacy group says the sentence given to a Melbourne man for shaking his one-month-old baby to death is too lenient.

Tomas Klamo, 23, was found guilty last month of manslaughter after his son, Isiah, died from bleeding on the brain in July 2005.

Today, the man of Melton in the city's west was sentenced in the Victorian Supreme Court to five years' jail, with a two-year non-parole period.

Australian Childhood Foundation spokesman Dr Joe Tucci says the sentence sends a message that violence towards children should be tolerated.

"It's out of step with community expectation," he said.

"I think the community wants crimes against children of this degree treated much more seriously than a two-year minimum sentence reflects."

Baby shaking sentence 'too lenient'

Other root causes of domestic violence

The NZ and Australian government won't lead by example if you haven't worked that out by now you're a complete drongo.

The contradiction in terms my learned friends is the example set by the government and the citizens not by learners raising children with no skills.

If smacking were banned then parents would have to learn how to raise children without smacking or losing it whilst trying to raise children.

If children had those skills they could pass them onto their children. Because allot of their parents missed out and so did they.

Didn't you read any of the examples posted?

Just being a red neck goodie two shoes is just an emotive response to a child killing, but a much better response would be to learn the lessons of the past and change the program.

If governments ignore that then they are responsible as well and so are people like you and me for not insisting that smacking children is a bad lesson that shouldn't be taught and should be banned.

Who else are you alowed to smack? Your pets?

That lesson sent that man to prison and killed a child, how much did that cost the community? The child was priceless and the prison cost over 60,000 dollars a year. Not to mention building more prisons.

We haven't gone into the hospital, courts, coroners, family courts, or police bills yet or the subsequent domestic violence out in the wider community, say between parents themselves, bullying at school, youth suicide, excess drug taking etc.

Prevention is better than cure. There are pragmatic answers after all, so why aren't the government listening completely?

The fact is violence is also perpetrated by the authorities, police, and prison guards and the armed forces.

Tens of thousands remember Anzac murderers and tens of millions stayed home

Teaching kids that Anzacs are brave and not biscuits, or that diggers are brave and not either digging holes to bury their dead or dieing, is a another lethal meme that encourages domestic violence in the community.

And that's probably why governments won't ban smacking because they want children to grow up with a bad attitude? So that they can get into trouble. Then they can political grandstand on law and order for political points using these learners as fodder for the victim industry or to be enlisted in the armed forces more easily.

Policeman, Prison Guards, and Military Personnel who end up killing themselves or others.

Think about Iraq for instance 655,000 dead!

Well what about it bah bah bah, are you a sheepy?