Child beaters, round two

[RantyDave]

"Should a smack as part of good parental correction be a criminal offence in New Zealand?"

With any luck the government will look at the overwhelmingly strong "no" in the light of the question that was actually asked and it's complete irrelevance to the repeal of section 59 when telling the pitchfork carriers that they can't have their legal right to beat children back. Perhaps "should children be afforded the same legal protections as adults?" was a little too factually correct for the proposing parties. Or maybe even "since the repeal of section 59, has the sky actually fallen in?". Or "since the repeal of section 59 are the prisons crowded with middle class parents?". Or maybe even "Is it OK to hit a child with a riding crop?".

And if s59 comes back in, where do we draw the line? I smacked her? I smacked her with a paddle? I smacked her with the pipe off the vacuum cleaner? I smacked her for an hour and a half? I smacked her and sold the video to someone on the Internet? I smacked her and she fell down the stairs? All legal, you want your name on that?

The good news is that we have a new canonical example of a contradiction in terms: "smack" and "good parental correction".

So bring it on, child beaters. Register your ongoing interest in raising another generation of violent criminals with a red rep, just as before. It's the one with the, like, justice scales thing in the corner. Y.. Yeah ... that one.

Dave

[98tls]

Funny this comes up,yesterday i was listening once again to our new next door neighbours kid (12 or 13 at a guess) telling his old man to " fuck" off."dont speak to me like that" just doesnt seem to be working next door so cant imagine it does anywhere else in the country.A thick ear would sort it but i guess A the fathers to lazy or B hes to scared to do it,either way the lack of thick ears in my opinion is only going to do the kid more harm than good.Sad really.

[JimO]

all my kids got a smack none of them were beaten to death

[JimO]

Funny this comes up,yesterday i was listening once again to our new next door neighbours kid (12 or 13 at a guess) telling his old man to " fuck" off."dont speak to me like that" just doesnt seem to be working next door so cant imagine it does anywhere else in the country.A thick ear would sort it but i guess A the fathers to lazy or B hes to scared to do it,either way the lack of thick ears in my opinion is only going to do the kid more harm than good.Sad really.

you should be a good neighbour and go and give the little turd a thick ear

[98tls]

you should be a good neighbour and go and give the little turd a thick ear

As much as he needs one its not my place to do it eh.I really feel for the bloke to be honest,hes only a wee fella and his 2 boys are as big if not slightly bigger than him and on more than one occasion they have been asked to do something and all hes got back is a load of abuse,the conversation always ending with "get fucked" seems he just gives up.As i said earlier personally i believe its doing them more harm than good and once out in the real world some big falls are coming for both of them.At what expense to others though before it does eh?

[Duke girl]

you should be a good neighbour and go and give the little turd a thick ear

He would only end up getting 1 back and then be put in the slammer for doing so seen that the kids of today seem to have more rights than parents these days which sucks BIG TIME.
Any wonder why todays generation dont have any respect for their elders as well as there parent with the way the Law is towards them.
Sad world we live in today.

[Drew]

It sounds to me Dave, that you are forgetting something.

The people who did beat their children excesively before all smacking was made illegal, knew they were breaking the fuckin law anyway.

"I smacked her and she fell down the stairs", a direct quote of yours trying to illustrate something, yet to me, that would be neglagent (and even then at a stretch), NOT abuse. She fell, it was an accident, but likely deserved a belt on the arse to begin with.

Fuck the whole thing, I still smack my kids when they step too far out of line, (thinking back I may not have since the law change), but I wont hesitate to do it if I see fit.

[Brownstoo]

The government needs to fuck off really. It is quite rediculous to take away a basic means of discipline that's instilled a healthy "respect your elders" attitude in younger generations pretty much forever. It's an intrusion into peoples lives, which is too far already, it also doesn't solve the original problem of beating kids to death, coz that was pretty much illegal in the first place, and the lack of good smackings probably contributes to all these little fuckers with no respect running round stabbing people and robbing dairies.
Fuck I sound like an old fart there lol.

[Hitcher]

Sophistry. Repealing s59 of The Crimes Act withdrew "smacking" as a legal defense for assault or worse, if my memory serves me correctly.

Anybody who thought that this was going to stop children getting abused or killed by brain-dead/over-zealous "care givers" was sadly dellusional. So too was anybody who thought that the Police would be out to prosecute any care-giver who gave a child a "loving tap".

Apart from millions of column cm devoted to this issue, can anybody tell me what has actually changed?

[Duke girl]

There's a huge difference in slapping your kids with an open hand and hitting them with a clinched fist. I can't see any harm in giving them a slap when they have done wrong as long as the force doesn't knock them to the ground.
Back in my day when we did wrong we got slapped accross the back of the legs which usually left who ever hit us, their hand print on our skin but we sure did learn not to do what we got slapped for again.

[allycatz]

Theres smacking as in quick slap on the bum or hand with an open hand (discipline) and 'smacking' with an object or hitting in the face, stomach etc....ie abuse. My kids got the forma if they put themselves in danger. As I got cleverer and wiser as a parent, they didn't really get that in the end as I became more deviant, with what was to the kids, crueller unecessary punishment...groundings, no tv etc.

[Winston001]

Apart from millions of column cm devoted to this issue, can anybody tell me what has actually changed?

Yes. Parents cannot now argue that physical blows are the acceptable norm for discipline within their household.

The defence arguments for asaulting a child have been reduced.

[Finn]

Apart from millions of column cm devoted to this issue, can anybody tell me what has actually changed?

Yes. The Government.

[saltydog]

Any wonder why todays generation dont have any respect for their elders as well as there parent with the way the Law is towards them.
Sad world we live in today.

Having problems with my rude, disrespectful, answer back, LAZY good for nothing stepson and he automatically says "you cant hit me"
Drives me mad. espicially when my old man laid into me and it never did me any harm.
A good well timed wack is all it would take.

[Swoop]

Apart from millions of column cm devoted to this issue, can anybody tell me what has actually changed?

The amount of bureaucracy that the previous gubbinment introduced to "save us from ourselves".

The police always have had the ability to prosecute child abusers under a multitude of laws. Something that the OP has ignored.