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Beating kids serve one purpose very well. This process is teaching them it is ok to hit someone because you love them!
I used to encourage KD to legislate the removal all forms of corporal punishment from the society. My view is that if you want an adult to understand that he or she should not assault another person then you need to start with the children and make it illegal for anyone to slap a child. Children need to grow up with a clear understanding that is is wrong for anyone to hit anyone.
Monteith, Johnson again disagree on corporal punishment
BALFORD HENRY, Observer writer
Monday, July 16, 2007
NONTEITH. recreation or sports should be used as a means of changing behaviour
NOEL Monteith, the minister of state for education and youth, and Leader of Opposition Business Anthony Johnson have again differed on the issue of corporal punishment, as the Senate debated the Child Care and Protection Act regulations on Friday.
As was the case in February 2005, when the Senate passed an Act providing for the regulation and management of early childhood institutions, Senator Noel Monteith supported corporal punishment, while Senator Johnson opposed the idea.
In fact, Senator Johnson recalled "this was the third or fourth time" that the two had verbally clashed on the subject.
"And I don't know if we are any closer to agreement," Senator Johnson said Friday.
JOHNSON. the violent behaviour of many adult Jamaicans can be traced to the use of corporal punishment
Senator Monteith felt that allowing some level of corporal punishment in children homes could produce better results than the punishment allowed in the regulations for the Act, which were passed on Friday.
The regulations restrict punishment in the institutions to temporary loss of recreation; isolation from other children; and forfeiture of rewards and privileges, including pocket money.
But Senator Monteith said that recreation often meant physical education and sport which, he felt, should not be withdrawn from children in order to punish them.
"I have always taken objection to anybody using the subject area of physical education and sport as a means of punishment," Monteith said.
"It is to me a normal, regular subject area and nobody ever say that they are going to take away children from maths... It is my subject area. I have been a teacher of physical education and sport all the years of my life," he said.
According to Senator Monteith, recreation or sports should be used as a means of changing behaviour, instead of as a form of punishment.
He added that isolation is, sometimes, much more traumatic than "a little slap on the wrist."
He said, too, that when students are isolated no one knows what they might do to themselves. "Some children are seriously afraid of being alone, even if light is there, and it can be very traumatic," he said.
Senator Monteith said that the Child Care and Protection Act's regulations were silent on how to restrain youngsters who become violent as well as on verbal abuse.
"Nothing is said about oral or verbal abuse of children," he pointed out. "Sometimes what you say to a child even have a more lasting effect on that child than a little slap."
"Everybody likes to jump on corporal punishment, but not many people seem to do research. Talk to adults and they will tell you that when somebody told them that they were no good, and they had no use and call them idiot and things like that. the type of effect it has had on them for over long periods in their lives," Senator Monteith told senators.
Senator Johnson, at the same time, said it was only himself and former Leader of Government Business, Burchell Whiteman, had opposed corporal punis-hment when the issue came up in 2005.
'We were clearly against it, and I have been speaking on it a lot over time and I recognise that, in fact, it is one of the core problems of the Jamaican society," he said.
He told the Senate that the violent behaviour of many adult Jamaicans could be traced to the use of corporal punishment during their childhood. He felt it taught them the debasement and abuse of the human body.
"The issue now is what can be done about it to make discipline a tool of correction and guidance, rather than of debasement and abuse," Johnson said.
"I am not certain that we have the answer to it, but I would hope that somehow a forum is found, preferably within the ambit of the child care and protection system, to train people in how you raise children in Jamaica without the abuse," he said.
Leader of Government Business Senator A J Nicholson, in closing the debate, admitted that he did not have the expertise to address those concerns.
"I appreciate the concerns, but let us understand that there are persons who work in the ministry and, in fact, this is one of the areas that the United Nations monitors daily," Nicholson said.
He said that what was obvious was that both sides wanted to ensure proper care and protection of the children, and promised to pass on their concerns to the Child Development Agency.
I used to encourage KD to legislate the removal all forms of corporal punishment from the society. My view is that if you want an adult to understand that he or she should not assault another person then you need to start with the children and make it illegal for anyone to slap a child. Children need to grow up with a clear understanding that is is wrong for anyone to hit anyone.
Monteith, Johnson again disagree on corporal punishment
BALFORD HENRY, Observer writer
Monday, July 16, 2007
NONTEITH. recreation or sports should be used as a means of changing behaviourNOEL Monteith, the minister of state for education and youth, and Leader of Opposition Business Anthony Johnson have again differed on the issue of corporal punishment, as the Senate debated the Child Care and Protection Act regulations on Friday.
As was the case in February 2005, when the Senate passed an Act providing for the regulation and management of early childhood institutions, Senator Noel Monteith supported corporal punishment, while Senator Johnson opposed the idea.
In fact, Senator Johnson recalled "this was the third or fourth time" that the two had verbally clashed on the subject.
"And I don't know if we are any closer to agreement," Senator Johnson said Friday.
JOHNSON. the violent behaviour of many adult Jamaicans can be traced to the use of corporal punishmentSenator Monteith felt that allowing some level of corporal punishment in children homes could produce better results than the punishment allowed in the regulations for the Act, which were passed on Friday.
The regulations restrict punishment in the institutions to temporary loss of recreation; isolation from other children; and forfeiture of rewards and privileges, including pocket money.
But Senator Monteith said that recreation often meant physical education and sport which, he felt, should not be withdrawn from children in order to punish them.
"I have always taken objection to anybody using the subject area of physical education and sport as a means of punishment," Monteith said.
"It is to me a normal, regular subject area and nobody ever say that they are going to take away children from maths... It is my subject area. I have been a teacher of physical education and sport all the years of my life," he said.
According to Senator Monteith, recreation or sports should be used as a means of changing behaviour, instead of as a form of punishment.
He added that isolation is, sometimes, much more traumatic than "a little slap on the wrist."
He said, too, that when students are isolated no one knows what they might do to themselves. "Some children are seriously afraid of being alone, even if light is there, and it can be very traumatic," he said.
Senator Monteith said that the Child Care and Protection Act's regulations were silent on how to restrain youngsters who become violent as well as on verbal abuse.
"Nothing is said about oral or verbal abuse of children," he pointed out. "Sometimes what you say to a child even have a more lasting effect on that child than a little slap."
"Everybody likes to jump on corporal punishment, but not many people seem to do research. Talk to adults and they will tell you that when somebody told them that they were no good, and they had no use and call them idiot and things like that. the type of effect it has had on them for over long periods in their lives," Senator Monteith told senators.
Senator Johnson, at the same time, said it was only himself and former Leader of Government Business, Burchell Whiteman, had opposed corporal punis-hment when the issue came up in 2005.
'We were clearly against it, and I have been speaking on it a lot over time and I recognise that, in fact, it is one of the core problems of the Jamaican society," he said.
He told the Senate that the violent behaviour of many adult Jamaicans could be traced to the use of corporal punishment during their childhood. He felt it taught them the debasement and abuse of the human body.
"The issue now is what can be done about it to make discipline a tool of correction and guidance, rather than of debasement and abuse," Johnson said.
"I am not certain that we have the answer to it, but I would hope that somehow a forum is found, preferably within the ambit of the child care and protection system, to train people in how you raise children in Jamaica without the abuse," he said.
Leader of Government Business Senator A J Nicholson, in closing the debate, admitted that he did not have the expertise to address those concerns.
"I appreciate the concerns, but let us understand that there are persons who work in the ministry and, in fact, this is one of the areas that the United Nations monitors daily," Nicholson said.
He said that what was obvious was that both sides wanted to ensure proper care and protection of the children, and promised to pass on their concerns to the Child Development Agency.
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