Today is Spank-Out Day USA. It is a day, on the last day of Child Abuse Prevention Month, set aside each year to remind us that violence only really teaches violence in the end and that we can all find ways to raise good kids without hitting.
Everyday in the U.S., children are subjected to treatment that, inflicted upon an adult, would be prosecutable as assault. And everyday in schools all over our nation, injurious corporal punishment that would be forbidden even to parents by child abuse statutes that do not allow "discipline" to include bruising or injury, happens and is perfectly legal.
To find out more about this issue, go to The Center For Effective Discipline , a site with many informative resources on the issue of corporal punishment.
I encourage everyone to work in what ways they can towards ending corporal punishment in your community. Will you take a pledge with me today to avoid corporal punishment in your own family in order to help us get that much closer to a world at peace? I pledge to do my best not to hit my children, so they will not learn violence. If you pledge to try also, please post in the comment section. Thank you!
4 comments:
LSM, taking your pledge to keep spreadfing the message of peace. Linking and spreading!
I have an ongoing promise not to hit my kids at all! So I definitely pledge today :)
Ditto what Veloute said. I admit that last week was very hard, and I even said (in desperation), "I would contemplate spanking Lucia except that I know it wouldn't do any good!" Seriously, though, we not only need to pledge to stop corporal punishment, but give each other real tools for dealing with difficult situations. I will often give myself a "time-out" and leave the room during the point of rage in which I know I am not capable of making rational decisions.
This Mommy often needs a time-out. The more tools, the better, I think, though I admit to impatience with anyone who thinks they have Answers. I think the best tools work sometimes...a lot of things we just can't control. Letting go of my need to control and my belief that the way my child ultimately behaves/who she becomes is really mine to determine has been a big lesson that parenting has taught me. Not a fun one.
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