I'm no parent...but

You know, I've not crossed the thresh-hold of parenthood yet, but I know that a light smack isn't all that bad for the child. In fact, I got one all out hiding from my dad during my years, bless his heart...and you know why he did it? Cause I cussed out my mother...I've never seen him chase me down like that, but as an adult, I can appreciate it because I learned, no one can talk to my mother like that.

Now you know what...under today's PC ridden laws, he would have been locked up for sure. I didn't get anything more than a bruised ego. No body injury, nothing that would have been emotionally scaring in nature or physically damaging. But because he did it, he would have been the brunt of the full weight of the new law.

Now...those two who killed their kid...I've said enough about that one.

But I find myself thinking that physical discipline is not evil. I do not believe that any parent has the right to thrash the living daylights out of their kid at all, but the right to enact physical punishment for grievous wrong is a parental right with the responsibilty to ensure that its not overboard. If I want to send my kid to a time out corner, that's my right. Some time in isolation is at times good. Its not emotionally scaring. Hmmm, lets look at that. Hiding with a vacuum pipe...time out corner....which one has the potential to do more damage.

You know adults do it too. Or at least should. They should when they feel that something is going to erupt, put themselves in a corner. Is that better than saying or doing something to a great gift like a child something you will later regret?

Schools have become rife with disrespect. Why? The threat of punishment is gone. I like the coach Carter approach. In the scene when he ruffs up one of his players and his player says, teachers can't do that to kids, and coach says, "I'm not a teacher, I'm your basketball coach." Kids know they have a right not to be hit...but they do not know they have a responsibility to behave like a "normal" person would. You cannot have a right, without an accompanying responsibility. Everyone who is of age has a right to get a drivers licence, but in getting one, you have the responsibility that comes with it. Seat belts, speed limits, noise control, WOFs and rego's.

I look forward to the day when I can join the ranks of a parent. I'm interested to see what I will be like. I have good parents. I have good role models to follow. They may have somewhat spoilt us all as kids, but they in no measure spared the rod. And the rod wasn't a physical object or an act...but if we did something that was wrong, we all knew they were disappointed. There was a look, a feel, a sense like them saying that we're not right with you right now, but give us some time and we can get back, and we always did. Sometimes now its me giving it back to them, but the outcome is the same.

This has all come about with the guidelines given to police. I tend to agree with some of the public who think it wont take much before someone comes into the courts because they did hit their kid. This from the Waikato Times..."under the guidelines sent to officers yesterday, even parents found to have used "minor, trivial or inconsequential" force and not charged will have their details recorded by police family violence co-ordinators." Reading on it says that "inconsequential" has not been defined. How the hell can you define that? Its like saying appropriate length. How long is appropriate? How long is a piece of string?

I fear the innocent ones will find themselves on the short end of the stick while the guilty ones, get small jail terms and "inconsequential" sentences and then they are back into it.