26 July 2009

Media Statement
The Yes Vote Coalition

Body Shop actions stations support turning the tide on smacking as "good parenting"

This week, action stations in The Body Shop will provide people with information about why a ‘yes’ vote in the referendum supports parents’ in their use of positive parenting.

New evidence that parents are increasingly shunning physical punishment as an effective method of parenting was published by the New Zealand Herald this weekend. It shows a steep drop in the numbers of both mothers and fathers using smacking frequently or at all. Most exciting is the huge jump in both mothers and fathers who now say they never smack.

"The tide is turning on physical punishment," says the Yes Vote campaign spokesperson, Deborah Morris-Travers. "The idea that smacking is ever part of 'good parental correction' is on the wane. People wanting to understand why a ‘yes’ vote is consistent with this view, can visit The Body Shop this week to collect information.

"Importantly, this declining use of physical punishment has been going on for at least the last two or three decades. The child discipline law affirms that it is right for parents to avoid physical punishment.

"New Zealand parents are finding other ways to bring up children who are secure, confident, understand limits and boundaries and behave well, without punishment. As such, they can be confident about the legal protection granted children in the child discipline law and they can be confident about how the law is working.

"A Yes vote in the forthcoming referendum is consistent with the positive parenting people are using. Voting papers will be mailed this week and a ‘yes’ vote is the best way people can express their support for a national maturing of attitudes to the way we treat our children,” concluded Ms Morris-Travers.

Ends

* The YES Vote coalition is a wide group of organisations supporting parents and the child discipline law. We are working to ensure the retention of the law. The coalition includes Barnardos, Plunket, UNICEF, Save the Children, Te Kahui Mana Ririki, Women’s Refuge, Childspace, Parent Centres and others. YesVote.org.nz

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