Consultation on the Children (Abolition of Defence of Reasonable Punishment) (Wales) Bill
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Tystiolaeth i’r Pwyllgor Plant, Pobl Ifanc ac Addysg ar gyfer craffu Cyfnod 1 Bil Plant (Diddymu Amddiffyniad Cosb Resymol) (Cymru) |
Evidence submitted to the Children, Young People and Education Committee for Stage 1 scrutiny of the Children (Abolition of Defence of Reasonable Punishment) (Wales) Bill |
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CADRP-605 |
CADRP-605 |
About you
Individual
— No
(we would be grateful if you could keep your answer to around 1000 words)
As a parent of small children, I see this bill as the government needlessly interfering in family life. The law as it stands already protects children.
We teach our children to love and serve their neighbour, to respect and obey people in authority. My wife and I feel like this bill undermines our parenting of our children and casts doubt in their minds on the principles that we teach them. If the Welsh government wants to serve the people of this country, it should not be done by patronising legislation that targets parents who are raising their children to respect and obey their authorities (including government).
(we would be grateful if you could keep your answer to around 1000 words)
No. I fear that the bill is trying to take the easy way out. There are problems in parenting that are more fundamental. Banning a smack, instead of "providing leadership for Wales", is only putting a sticking plaster on problems in parenting that are riddled with cancer. Isn't one of the most damaging and troublesome problems for children that they do not have a father and mother with a stable relationship in the home. Why not try to tackle that problem in order to really protect children?
Is there any bill that can achieve the positive? Requiring parents to: hug their child, read to their child, talk to their child, listen to their child, love their child, pray for their child, teach their child, take away screens from their child. Can the government pass a bill that creates a culture where we understand that children are a precious gift and that they need to be nurtured and admonished by a father and mother who provide a consistent example?
(we would be grateful if you could keep your answer to around 1000 words)
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In the story Goodnight Mister Tom by Michelle Magorian an abused boy goes to live with old Tom Oakley. Tom sees that Willie Beech's mother has been beating him with a belt. Tom says, "I ent ever hit a child and if I ever do it’ll be with the skin of me hand. You got that?"
The government's removal of reasonable punishment would lump Mister Tom in the same group as Mrs. Beech. This highlights the problem: the government is trying to identify one form of discipline as abuse and instead of making it easier to identify abuse, it casts a larger net that will make it harder to prosecute actual criminals.
My perception is that the government is not concerned with the unintended consequences. It wants "to send a message." I think writing unnecessary laws "to send a message" is a form of leadership that is afraid to face true problems. The unintended consequence is that we are wasting time trying "to send a message" instead of engaging with truly problem parents about all the different forms of abuse (neglect, confinement, manipulation, shouting, malnutrition, spoiling). The bill highlights one form of possible abuse (excessive physical punishment) and neglects many others. The government will pass this bill, say "job done" and leave good parents in confusion all the while patting itself on the back for its accomplishments.
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(we would be grateful if you could keep your answer to around 1000 words)
Is there any way to acknowledge that there are good parents who love their children and want their children to grow up and benefit society who also on principle use an occasional smack (not in anger or vengeance) to discipline their child for the child's good? I am against child abuse as much as anyone. I do not like seeing parents smack their child in public, or shout at their child, or berate their child. There is so much to do to help these families. We are praying for the Welsh government to act wisely to help our young families.