1. Families Comm’n Pushes Anti-Smacking Ideology

In an Op-Ed in the Timaru Herald (27 March 09) entitled ” Positive Parenting means not having to smack ” the new chief commissioner of the Families Commission says:

Family First responded with an Op-Ed published the next day in the same paper entitled ” We owe it to good parents to get smacking law right ” written by researcher for Family First Sue Reid. In it she says:

Pryor states ”there is no legal justification for the use of force to correct a child’s behaviour”, so why does ‘positive parenting’ not include correction ? I know that as a mum I need to be able to teach my child the right from wrong and it is an ongoing process for me to ‘correct’ my child’s behaviour.. Many parents would testify to aspects that are less than positive in the training of a child for the adult world. I am sure the child does not see ‘time out’ in a positive light nor see ‘grounding’ as positive . Parents are often seen in negative light when they proceed with knowing best what will work for their child.
.. People who don’t like the question in the referendum simply don’t like the answer they come to ! Organisations like the Families Commission would better serve families when they consider the attitudes, needs and requirements of families rather than using their government funded weight to impose a flawed ideology on to good, healthy, functioning families.

READ BOTH ARTICLES

2. We still aren’t tackling the real causes
Sudden surge in child abuse cases
Sunday Star Times 29 March 2009
Record numbers violently abused South Auckland babies have been hospitalised with severe injuries in recent weeks,.. investigations had been launched into the cases of seven babies who were admitted to Auckland’s Starship hospital in the past six weeks with suspected non-accidental injuries. The number was far above the region’s average of one abused baby admitted every six weeks with severe non-accidental injuries READ MORE
CDHB focus on abuse of pregnant women
The Press 31 March 2009
Canterbury hospitals are intensifying their fight against domestic violence as figures show one in six pregnant women is physically abused. The Canterbury District Health Board (CDHB) is hiring a family violence co-ordinator to review all relevant policies. Experts say abuse is at epidemic proportions in New Zealand, and doctors and midwives are well placed to detect it. READ MORE

3. Kiwi women falling asleep on the job
Herald on Sunday Mar 29, 2009
New Zealand women are in the midst of an exhaustion “epidemic”, with hundreds barely getting any shut-eye between working two jobs and looking after their families. Sleep experts say “supermums” are putting their health at risk by trying to do it all. Dr Alex Bartle, of the Sleep Well Clinic in Auckland, said ..”Young mums are a huge issue because they are trying to be supermums and do it all at once. There are a lot more opportunities for women and plenty more are entering the workforce but doing all these things leads to all sorts of anxiety and sleep issues. I see a lot of women trying to juggle everything and it’s a huge problem,” he said. READ MORE
Family First Comment : READ our article on this issue “Extended Childcare no Miracle for Children – Or Mums!”

4. Anger as child porn offenders spared jail
The Press 27 March 2009
Outrage is growing over a failure to jail child-pornography offenders in the wake of a home-detention sentence for a man possessing more than 100 pornographic images of infants as young as 18 months. The Department of Internal Affairs says fewer than half the nation’s convicted child-pornography offenders are being jailed . It says the low rate of imprisonment in the face of a “plague” of child pornography that is getting “far more violent” and “sicker”, and with younger victims, is infuriating . READ MORE
Family First Comment : In 2005 a conviction for intentional possession of child pornography was increased from 2 years to 5 years imprisonment. Only the Green party opposed this increase! Why aren’t the judges delivering what the legislation allows for???

5. Playcentre struggles without funding
NZ Herald Mar 31, 2009
Playcentre is losing families to other early childhood educators because of a lack of funding to support its structure. The parent-run centres for babies to 6-year-olds are disappointed they will not be included in the Ministry of Education’s 20 Hours funding scheme, or receive any extra funding to support mounting costs. Before the election, National promised to include Playcentre in the 20 Hour early childhood education policy, but a recent meeting with Education Minister Anne Tolley confirmed any boost in funding would not be part of this budget cycle. READ MORE
Family First Comment : The government must address this inequity now. Why should some preschools get millions of dollars of funding (20 hours free childcare), but if they’re led by parents they get nothing ! Then again, why do so-called ‘professionals’ get paid to look after your pre-schooler but if a family sacrifices an income so that they can parent full-time, they get nothing ! It’s time to address this prejudice against stay-home mums or dads.

OVERSEAS COVERAGE

6. Opposition Leader: family values the key to responsible society (UK)
Telegraph (UK) 29 Mar 2009
David Cameron, the Conservative leader, has said that the restoration of family values and a new commitment to economic and social responsibility are key to repairing “broken Britain”. In a speech to the Welsh Conservative conference in Cardiff, he said ….families would be put at the fore-front of the Government’s policy making, with Mr Cameron stressing his belief in the importance of marriage and supporting parents . READ MORE
Family First Comment : How refreshing! When did you last hear a NZ political leader emphasise the importance and benefits of marriage??

7. Vaccine bid on children (Aust)
Sunday Herald Sun March 29, 2009
Every Australian child would be vaccinated against the flu under a plan being proposed by leading infant health experts. The push comes after a trial of pediatric influenza vaccinations reduced hospitalisations for flu in under-5s by almost 90 per cent . And it follows new data showing flu rates in children under two are now seven times higher than for the elderly. READ MORE

8. Teachers given cane go-ahead (Australia)
The Australian March 29, 2009
THE cane is still being wielded at some Queensland schools where parents sign legal waivers to give teachers the power to hit their children. The corporal punishment option is offered at some of the state’s fastest-growing independent schools as part of their strict behaviour management strategies. READ MORE

9. Why shouting at your children is as bad as smacking them (UK)
Mail Online 28th March 2009
At this rate, the only weapon left for parents dealing with extremely difficult children will be a nasty look . For it seems that shouting at your offspring could follow smacking in falling foul of political correctness. Parents are now worried that they are letting their children down when they raise their voices to tell them off and fear they could be accused of losing their cool. READ MORE
Family First Comment : As we have said consistently through the anti-smacking debate, how parents use discipline tactics may be more important than which ones they use. Even ‘time out’ ‘grounding’ ‘withdrawal of privileges’ and ‘verbal correction’ can become abuse when used in an extreme way.

10. Majority of doctors opposed to assisted suicide (UK)
guardian.co.uk 24 March 2009
Doctors very rarely help anyone who is terminally ill to die and two-thirds are opposed to changing the law to allow them to do so, new research reveals today. READ MORE