MEDIA RELEASE
26 May 2008

Bradford Gets It Wrong on Smacking - Again

Family First NZ is rubbishing statements by Green Party MP Sue Bradford that the 48% of parents (51% of mums) who have used a smack for the purposes of correction since the passing of the anti-smacking law are “using violence as part of bringing up their children” or “resorting to violence.”

“This statement, like the anti-smacking law, is removed from reality and is an insult to the hundreds of thousands of parents who are raising good, responsible, happy and law-abiding kids,” says Bob McCoskrie, National Director of Family First NZ.

Sue Bradford also says that the number of parents who admit smacking their children has decreased over the last three years.

Once again this is wrong. A 2005 national survey of 612 parents and 539 caregivers with children aged five and under found that 49 per cent of parents had not smacked their children in the past three months or used physical discipline as a way to handle misbehaviour. The survey was conducted by Auckland's Gravitas Research for the Ministry of Social Development's three-year, $10 million public education campaign called "Strategies with Kids - Information for Parents" (Skip).

“In other words - in 2005 - 51% of parents admitted they had smacked their children. This is the same as the current research in 2008. Nothing has changed. Parents continue to parent appropriately and ignore attempts by politicians to tell them how to do their job,”says Mr McCoskrie.

The figure Ms Bradford and other politicians should be noting is the 85% who want the law changed.

ENDS

Source document “Smackers in retreat, says survey – NZ Herald 30 March 05
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10117744

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