|
The heavy handed action by Children's Aid Society in the
case of the Aylmer, Ontario family is reprehensible. They
forcefully took away seven children from their parents
against their will and without any good reason or just
cause. They broke up a normal home simply to prove that
the establishment has more rights and power than the natural
family or individual citizen.
In
the first place, it's not up to bureaucrats within the
government, the CAS, or the UN to decide whether parents
can spank their children or not. It's up to the parents!
Or are we now living in an era where the state can claim
our children as their human capital and the family has
been relegated to the lowly position of simply the provider
of that human capital?
From
most reports, it becomes obvious that CAS and anti-spanking
"experts" don't differentiate between spanking
a child as a disciplinary measure and hitting a child
in anger. Nor do these people consider what makes the
difference between an orderly society and a violent one.
In
Switzerland, where I grew up, spanking has always been
considered part of the disciplinary arsenal parents have
for bringing up children in decent fashion. It was a punishment
reserved for very specific, and usually, repeated offences
(lying, stealing, swearing, bullying, vandalism, and reprehensible
behaviour qualified). It was meted out sparingly and never
in haste, anger, or without explanation. The punishment
was always preceded with a lecture on character, decorum,
and the detrimental effects the
offending deed could have on the good name of the family.
After the formality of the spanking, the offender was
usually ostracized and held incommunicado for the rest
of the day and, depending on the severity of the misdemeanour,
sent to bed without supper. The spanking was administered
by laying on vigorously, across the bare backside, with
a small bundle of birch switches. This formidable weapon
was called "Aunt Greta" and resided behind the
main hall mirror in most homes. "Aunt Greta"
neither crippled nor
maimed, but few kids ever needed more than one visit from
the much respected "Aunt." Kids requiring more
than a couple such treatments were considered "uncool"
by the rest in our juvenile society, and that in itself
was usually enough to put them on the straight and narrow.
By the time a child was 10 years-of-age, a plateau of
social conduct was usually reached where the threat of
spanking was no longer needed.
Lately,
here in Canada and the U.S., there has been a gathering
rumble of debate over corporal punishment within the home
and school. Strangely, the debate has only centred around
whether spanking a child should be legal or not and what
it means in terms of human rights, rather than why, when,
where, and how such last-resort punishment might serve
a useful purpose.
The
governments, bowing to pressure from the U.N. and modern
political correctness, want to abolish corporal punishment.
Psychiatrists and psychologists are concocting statistics,
among their many other nefarious endeavours, to point
the finger of blame for a host of social maladjustments
to the "cruel and unusual" aspects of child-spanking.
Why, when, where, and how spanking of the child may serve
a useful purpose is never discussed. As a father and grandfather,
my firm belief and experience is that spanking a child
is a measure rarely required when parents lead by example,
with patience, and tender, loving care. However, if it
becomes necessary, it is a punishment that should be meted
out with discrete determination: never in anger, at random,
or without explanation or good reason.
However,
it is not for the government to say whether parents can
spank their children or not. Nor is it up to the U.N.
or the psychiatrists and psychologists to tell parents
how to raise their offspring. And the CAS would do well
to concentrate on real child abuse cases, of which there
are many-including sexual abuse cases involving children
placed in foster homes by the CAS. The Children's Aid
Society has no moral right to tear a normal family apart
simply because the parents won't promise not to spank
their
children.
Jann
Flury
870 Monaghan Ave, Oshawa, ON. L1J 6Z4 905-571-4811
Phone 1-905-571-4811
Fax 1-905-571-4881
|
