Perth mother fined for hitting her child with the wooden spoon
A 35 year-old Perth mother has been fined $750 for hitting her 9yo daughter with a wooden spoon on the bum.
The court found that she used an unnecessary amount of force which had caused her daughter to bruise.
The mother said that she disciplined her child with the wooden spoon after her daughter took old hamburger meat out of the fridge and started eating it. The mother had placed worming tablets inside the meat which was meant to be given to their dogs.
What do you think? Do you remember being struck on the bum with the wooden spoon by mum and dad for playing up?
blue trumpy, it's called neglect. All children require guidelines from their parents. There are too many lazy parents that can't be bothered to do that.
Yes children need dis We do not know the full circumstances of what occured only media report The child has issues.It is not normal for a child to eat hamburger mince unless it was cooked. I hope the mother reived some advice as to how help her child. The cane was around in my days and was used on bullies. That should happen again today because the bullies never touched me again.
Yes children need dis We do not know the full circumstances of what occured only media report The child has issues.It is not normal for a child to eat hamburger mince unless it was cooked. I hope the mother reived some advice as to how help her child. The cane was around in my days and was used on bullies. That should happen again today because the bullies never touched me again.
I think the mother should have been charged. And I'd hope that the dept of families and children are monitoring her. Hitting a child is a lazy way out. If you wouldn't discipline an adult this way why do it to a defenceless child? And for eating the wrong thing out of the fridge? Seriously? The mother couldn't take a 9yo away from the fridge and explain to her why it was dangerous to eat that meat without resorting to violence? And why was the child eating the contaminated meat anyway? Was she hungry? Far more to this story than meets the eye at first glance I'd say.
No one can judge unless you have walked in that mother’s shoes . Tearing people apart without knowing the whole situation, not media hype sensationalism.
the only intelligent statement on this subject that has been made so far
And when that child runs riot for lack of discipline, society blames the parents. I, and many of you reading this, received more than a smack with a wooden spoon and have turned out OK.
Yes gnaser, I agree with you, 'Spare the Rod and Spoil the Child' an old adage. Personally, when I smacked my naughty Son, I followed up with a loving hug and explanation. He is now a 58-year old man society can be as proud of as I am.
There is obviously more to this story.
Yes, children do need firm and consistent discipline but NOT with a wooden spoon or any other implement. I taught behaviour management for 33 years to hundreds of parents who found that smacking did not work. My own childhood was not managed by physical punishment and I believe I turned out alright. So many people believe the only way to discipline a child is by being physically aggressive. would you hit your pet dog with a wooden spoon to make it behave? Society has moved on from physical means of discipline and the law now reflects that change but many people have the msiguided idea that if it worked for me then it must be right.
Cirdan, you could have equally said that if your smack-less upbringing worked for you it must be OK. Those of us brought up under corporal punishment would mostly be happy not to apply it I suspect but it doesn't necessarily mean it did any harm nor that it did not deter us from a few dangerous outcomes here and there. This punishment for me was well measured, we knew what we were getting into, knew what punishment could follow and we were generally detered from the same activities again.
When my young brother neglected to unload his rifle and worse, absent-mindedly let it point across several of us as he put it away, the embargo he received on using it for months would have helped but the whipping wasn't wasted either, may well have saved our lives; it brought home the immediacy, constancy and necessity of absolute compliance in this area....he has remained very considered in his use ever since.
You can I think and perhaps rightly say: "well, what are children doing with guns anyway?" that would be fair if it were not just an example of countless other modes of activity which could yield the same result it not treated carefully. We were only permitted to involve ourselves in some of these things because we were deemed capable of playing by rules. Oversight or accident was not an excuse, training, compliance and vigilance kept people safe. Policing this was not something the wider community could or would do.
Largely times have changed and for the better. Although the character of youth crime today would have changed, i do not doubt Adrianus' view that their overall crime is reducing.
There’s a lot more to this story. The little girl has behavioural problems, including an ADHD diagnosis and is seeing a pediatrician. The mother told the child specifically not to eat the meat and panicked when she found her eating it because she wasn’t sure whether she has added medicine for the dog. Personally, I woud not have put the meat in the fridge anyway, stupid act on the mother's part. Perth's been so cold recently, it would have been fine.
It must be very hard looking after a child with ADHD and although I can understand the mother’s frustration, she did the wrong thing. The child is apparently getting some help, but I think the mother herself needs a lot of help to improve her coping skills.
I had a feeling there might be a back story here Bijou, thanks for that and will add:
A large number of studies on the effects of punishment found that the more physical punishment children receive, the more defiant they are toward parents and authorities, the poorer their relationships with parents, and are also more likely to suffer mental health problems, such as anxiety, depression and substance abuse.
Discipline is essential as it enforces boundaries for children. There is a big difference between discipline e.g. a smack, deprivation of tv, toys etc., and abuse. I regularly got hit on the hand with a ruler when I went to school which was not pleasant but did not in any way affect me mentally or socially. Today parents have no rights when it comes to chastising their children. Who would want to be a teacher today - putting up with brats and their parents who fail to reinforce discipline at school and home. The result of lack of discipline is evident in shopping centres etc. where young people run rampant, stealing and being violent. What kind of adults are we bringing up that do not understand right from wrong and have no respect for anyone!
Well just look at the youth crime rate climbing since physical discipline was outlawed! Its now at epidemic proportions in most States, cars are being stolen by 13 year olds, houses broken into, shops held up and elderly people attacked by kids too young to be punished by the law. Youth detention centres are overflowing so children are being detained in adult prisons while they await a finger wagged at them in court. If this is the price we have to pay for not adequately teaching children right from wrong then its a price too high.
Viking I find it very hard to believe that the youth crime rate is climbing since physical discipline was outlawed. There is no evidence to substantiate that claim, in fact the opposite may be more accurate. There is more and more data suggesting that a non spanking environment for a child can relate to a lower crime rate years into the future. Gosh if physical abuse is the answer to law and order then what is the question??
Firstly Adrianus you have deliberately changed my wording from physical discipline to physical abuse to suit yout argument. If you claim that the generation of children raised on the current non spanking regime is no more violent than previous generations then listen to the news or talk to your State police or custodial authority.
According to the ABS, 8 February 2018:
The youth offender rate decreased for the seventh consecutive year in 2016–17, according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Between 2009–10 and 2016–17, the rate fell from 3,339 to 2,330 offenders per 100,000 persons aged 10 to 17.
... whoever produced those "Stats." must be living in la la land! lol .....
Perhaps the reason that those "low" rates are depicted is the fact that rarely do any youths/teens get charged anymore and are let off with a slap on the wrist with a wet lettuce leaf?
Ohhhh nooooooooooooo! Violence at it's worst .... a "wet lettuce leaf"!
Viking, what sort of physical discipline are you referring to? I call taking to a child with a stick uncalled for and abuse. Sure I have been aware at different times when a small group of youths go on a crime spree, however, they eventually get caught. LL I'm saying is, if your first and last resort is to hit a child, then stop and think about what you could be teaching that child?
Viking, what sort of physical discipline are you referring to? I call taking to a child with a stick uncalled for and abuse. Sure I have been aware at different times when a small group of youths go on a crime spree, however, they eventually get caught. LL I'm saying is, if your first and last resort is to hit a child, then stop and think about what you could be teaching that child?
There is an excellent book entitled 'Dare to Discipline' writen by child psychologist Dr. James Dobson. It should be mandatory reading for all parents of young children. In his opinion a lack of discipline is a form of chils abuse!!!