Audio: Nine to Noon interviews Prof Anne Smith, Murray Edridge and Bob McCoskrie

June 16, 2009

Kathryn Ryan interviews Prof Anne Smith, Murray Edridge, and Bob McCoskrie on Radio New Zealand’s Nine to Noon programme this morning.

Anne Smith is Professor Emeritus at Otago University’s College of Education, and discusses her research on child discipline that shows that less than 10% of parents feel that smacking is effective; she says that most of the parents involved in her study that smacked their children regretted it afterwards, and that the smacking had more to do with the parents’ state of mind, tiredness, etc than the child’s behaviour.

She also discusses parents’ reaction the current law.  In her study, 47% supported the current Child Discipline Law, 27% were against it, with the rest undecided.

Prof Smith said that only a tiny minority of experts believe that smacking is effective, and that the present law is working well.

Murray Edridge (CEO Barnardos) and Bob McCoskrie (Family First) comment on the research and the referendum.