There is some big international parenting conference over at UQ at the moment.
I was listening to a couple of experts on the radio this morning.
It seems that 'discipline' is a thing of the past. Smacking is definitely not on and in Sweden, even 'time out' is too authoritarian! (They have 'wind down time' instead.)
I found the whole discussion about children's rights rather annoying. It seems so hypocritical when abortion and divorce are considered fine.
I hate the whole idea of 'rights'. It puts things that I naturally do because I want to do them into a cold and hard 'have to' category. But if I had to formulate a list...
My children have the right to:
1. be protected, loved and cared for by their parents from the time of their conception.
2. be raised by both parents (assuming both are alive).
3. be prayed for, taught the gospel, trained in the way of the Lord and welcomed into the church
4. be taught how to live in community with others and how to contribute to society. This will include being corrected when necessary.
5. be provided with what they need (food, clothes, etc.)
Have I left out anything obvious?
I'd say no, in the sense that everything's covered.
ReplyDeleteBut I wonder whether, in framing pts 1 and 2 around the parents, you cede too much ground. I'd like to say that children have a right to be cared for (albeit more distantly) by society from conception. I've known too many people, for instance, who've had to fight the medical establishment to win their child's right to live...
Great line about hypocrisy, by the way!