home
Aotearoa New Zealand can be a place where children are secure, confident, understand limits and boundaries and behave well – without physical punishment.
In 2007, by an overwhelming majority of 113 to 8 votes, Parliament granted children protection from assault by their parents. The law is working well as shown by: Increased awareness of positive discipline and other nonviolent parenting techniques; parents who overstep the mark and use heavy handed discipline, like Jimmy Mason not getting away with a defence of “reasonable force” and being given compassionate and appropriate sentences like anger management courses; and no criminal convictions of parents who have only lightly smacked their children.
The results of the recent poorly worded referendum will lead to pressure being put on politicians to change the 2007 law and re-legalise the use of physical discipline. Turning the clock back is a retrograde step. We now urge you to email your MP, and ask them to continue to support the Child Discipline Law when the law is officially reviewed.
Thank you to our supporters for your continued efforts to ensure a better future for our children.
Latest News
- The APS Parent guide to helping children manage conflict – 22 January 2010
Understanding some of the stresses that parents undergo in parenting children is an important issue that has received little attention in the recent media debate around a US study on the effectiveness of discipline and smacking children.
The APS Parent guide to helping children manage conflict, aggression and bullying contains useful information about how to manage a child‟s behaviour in an effective way, without being aggressive or unduly punishing the child.
[Read More ...]
A recent report published by the Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children provides information about world wide progress towards universal prohibition of all corporal (physical) punishment of children.
[Read More ...]
- “Research” shows that smacking is good for kids? – 8 January 2010
Recently there have been reports in the media in New Zealand and internationally drawing attention to an unpublished study by Marjorie Gunnoe at Calvin College in Michigan USA that purports to have found that children who are smacked occasionally do better at school than children who are never smacked. These findings are, of course, being made much of by proponents of physical discipline – including those who would like to see New Zealand’s 2007 child discipline law overturned.
[Read More ...]
- Yet another review shows Family First has been misleading the NZ public – 8 December 2009
In a further review of the Child Discipline Law, independent reviewer and child psychologist Nigel Latta, confirmed that the law is being applied appropriately and that the cases referred to by the pro-smacking lobby as inappropriate referrals to the Police or CYF were not in fact inappropriate on closer examination. The Prime Minister, John Key, has re-affirmed his view that there is no need to change to the law.
The inescapable conclusion is that Family First and friends seem to be either lazy about their research, stupid about their interpretation of the facts, and/or deliberately trying to mislead the New Zealand public to promote their smacking agenda.
[Read More ...]
- Free Booklet: A Theology of Children – 23 November 2009
A Theology of Children is a new 24-page booklet aimed at supporting and strengthening parents, grandparents, and caregivers with strategies for non-physical discipline of children within a theological context. You can download A Theology of Children for free.
[Read More ...]
- Brian Rudman: Mob rule no substitute for democracy – 18 November 2009
Brian Rudman worries about the so-called “March for Democracy” in the NZ Herald today.
[Read More ...]How humiliating to live in a country where $500,000 is being spent encouraging people to march up the main street of our biggest city demanding the right to beat their kids.
It could only happen in a country with one of the worst child murder rates in the developed world.
- Physical punishment of children and the Child Discipline Law – 16 November 2009
Support for the 2007 law remains strong among those that understand how well children in New Zealand will be served in the long term by the repeal of the old section 59 Crimes Act 1961. As the recent report from the Ministry of Social Development has shown there has been no increase in prosecutions for minor assaults on children since the law change but there seems an increased willingness to report more serious assaults on children.
It is also likely that the law is already contributing (along with information about positive parenting) to a social change away from use of smacking and hitting, International evidence against the use of physical punishment continues to grow. Calls from activities opposed to the 2007 law change do not reflect such evidence and the “March for Democracy” is their latest expensive move to apply pressure on politicians to turn back clock and send a message intentionally or unintentionally that physical punishment is a acceptable form of child discipline.
EPOCH NZ have produced a paper reviewing the law in light of recent research and the referendum.
Download the paper, Physical Punishment of Children and the Child Discipline Law.
[Read More ...]
- Latest Section 59 review says the law is working well – 11 November 2009
Yet another review of the Child Discipline Law confirms that the law is working well.
Social Develoment Minister Paula Bennet says in her media release:
[Read More ...]“The review has found no evidence to show that parents are being subject to unnecessary state intervention for occasionally lightly smacking their children.
“I think this review goes some way to comforting parents that the law is being interpreted in the way it was intended.”
- A personal tribute to Sue Bradford – 2 November 2009
Last week, Sue Bradford left Parliament. I view her departure with mixed feelings. There is much sadness and regret that she is going, but at the same time I know that she has accomplished more than many MPs ever do and that that she is doing what she feels is right for herself at this time. I speak for many colleagues who wish her well in her new directions. We are confident that Sue will continue to make difference to the lives of New Zealanders in many ways by continuing to champion social justice causes.
[Read More ...]
- Kiwi families using positive discipline because it works – 18 October 2009
Kiwi families say they are increasingly using positive parenting techniques because they work, according to 100 ordinary families’ descriptions of their own parenting methods.
Interviews were conducted with 117 parents from 100 families as part of a Families Commission Blue Skies funded project that investigated what kind of discipline strategies are used by today’s families with their pre-school children. Researchers Julie Lawrence and Anne B Smith also asked families to record their discipline practices in parenting diaries.
[Read More ...]
You can also see older news items in our News section.
Related posts:
