When English poet Samuel Butler wrote, “... Then Spare the Rod, and spill [sic] the child,” surely he could not have imaged the phrase would still be used 347 years.
Some contend that spanking can be and should be a discipline tool available to parents. Others believe any physical punishment is inappropriate at best and psychologically damaging and criminal at worst.
In New Zealand, the issue has become a national debate and a national referendum is under way.
The wording of the referendum: “Should a smack as part of good parental correction be a criminal offence [sic] in New Zealand?”
In May 2007, the New Zealand parliament passed into law that a parent could be prosecuted for “smacking” his child. Smacking seems to be a term that encompasses any physical contact, including what most Americans would call spanking.
The law, pushed by New Zealand’s Green Party, passed with a solid majority of the votes. Churches were divided, with those described as conservative churches opposed. Other churches supported the law that made it a criminal offense to spank a child.
The referendum began Friday and ends Aug. 21. The “postal referendum” was the result of a citizen-led initiative triggered when supporters garnered the signatures of 10 percent of the county’s eligible voters. But no matter how the vote falls, the referendum is not binding on parliament.
Larry Baldock, a Kiwi Party leader, who reportedly helped lead the fight for the referendum, told the press the problem is the law does not distinguish between abuse and a “light smack.”
Prior to 2007, parents in New Zealand could use a “parental discipline” and “reasonable force” as a defense against being prosecuted for spanking their children.
As one examines the articles about the debate, an attempt to find a logical middle ground does not seem to exist.
Supporters of the existing law that criminalizes spanking cites several examples of clearly outrageous behavior, including a child beaten to death and a father who knocked his child down three times because the child refused to play soccer in an incomplete uniform.
Proponents of decriminalizing spanking provide their arguments as well. According to an article in The Australian, New Zealand Herald columnist Garth George wrote: "Take the young mum in the supermarket the other day whose child packed a towering tantrum and in the process swept a whole lot of goods off a shelf.
"She tried her hardest to reason with the child, but couldn't smack for fear of being reported to the police. In the end she left the supermarket in confusion, upset and hurt at the censorious stares of other customers who she believed considered her a bad parent.”
One commentator said New Zealand had turned into a “nanny state.”
Child abuse cannot be tolerated, but is all physical discipline abuse?
Can a spanking actually be effective? Is it sometimes necessary with certain strong-willed children?
Beatings are never acceptable, but should children be able to call the police and have their parents arrested for a spanking?
The debate continues and the referendum in New Zealand ends in three weeks. How would you vote?
