WHY?

If the President of the United States, many governors, mayors, and other leaders publicly proclaim the need to end child abuse, WHY is "spanking" still allowed in our country? WHY is it that the word "spanking" makes hitting smaller, more vulnerable people acceptable to some? WHY do we call ourselves one of the most advanced countries in the world, when many others have recognized the negative personal and social repercussions of hitting children and have outlawed it, before us?

This month is National Child Abuse Prevention Month, and April 30th is National "Spank out Day". If you are interested spreading the word about more positive alternatives than spanking, as well as information to help prevent child abuse by supporting parents, check out the links I already included and these too:

* Ideas from the Blue Ribbons for Kids campaign

* Project No Spank

* National Exchange Club

* An international resource for legislative change

* Resources for my Christian friends

I know from experience that one of the most difficult things to do, but which can be immediately helpful in preventing child abuse, is to speak up when you publicly witness situations where there is potential for abuse. Here are some tips from The Ounce of Prevention Fund of Florida, which I hope will help in such a situation.

 Praise the parent or child at the first opportunity. Think of something positive to say and say it! It helps to hear others are supportive of you.

 Identify with the parent. You can let them know you’ve been there by saying, “My kids used to do the same thing when they were that age. Is there anything I can do to help?”

 Blame the environment. “This is such a bright and colorful place and filled with things for children to want to touch. I swear the supermarkets have really done a great job at creating a place where children just want to run around.”

 Offer assistance. “You seem to really have your hands full. Can I help you?” Or, “Can I find someone to come and help you with something?”

 Empathize with the child. “You don’t feel like sitting in that stroller anymore, do you? Well just a little longer and Mommy/Daddy will be all done and you can get out.”

 If you are concerned about the physical safety of the child, then offer assistance. For example, if a child is left unattended, stand by the child until the parent returns.

Any assistance you can offer a stressed parent will help them take a few seconds to take a deep breath and calm down.

When I witness mistreatment of others, especially children, I definitely need to take lots of deep breaths! I hope we can all learn to breath and be more peaceful!

What Would Scott Do?

I know I've shared this man's wonderfully wise words here before, but he has so many that I just have to do it again. ;) If you're not receiving Scott Noelle's "Daily Groove" in your e-mailbox, I urge you to go to the website below and sign up - TODAY! You'll be glad you did. Really. I promise. :)


THE DAILY GROOVE
~ by Scott Noelle, www.enjoyparenting.com/dailygroove

:: WWCD: What Would a Child Do? ::

A popular Christian slogan is "WWJD: What Would Jesus Do?" This is an excellent question for Christian parents to ask, as Jesus honored children, promoted nonviolence, and embodied unconditional love.

Anyone you consider to be loving and wise can help you connect with your Inner Wisdom in this way:
* What would the Dalai Lama do?
* What would my great aunt Sally do?
* What would Mister Rogers do?
* What would my dog do? (Seriously!)

Another great source of wisdom is *children*, who constantly present us with opportunities to let go of limiting beliefs:
* A child would care more about feeling good than being "right."
* A child would look for the FUN in every situation.
* A child would be open to miracles.
* A child would be authentic.

Today, include children's wisdom in your decision-making by asking yourself, "What would a child do?" Once you've expanded your perspective in this way, ask yourself the most important question: " What would *I* do?"


http://dailygroove.net/wwcd Feel free to forward this message to your friends! (Please include this paragraph and everything above.) Copyright (c) 2007 by Scott Noelle

State of the Union or Reaping What You Sow

What you see below is the verbatim copy of an e-mail I received today from a friend. It is the second time I have seen this e-mail, and I just HAD to make a public statement about how I feel about it. (I know I don't have much of a "public" reading this, but it will help me to get it off my chest and more coherent for future proselytyzing. ;)

WOW, WHAT A WAKE UP!

Dear God:

Why didn't you save the school children at ?

Moses Lake , Washington 2/2/96
Bethel , Alaska 2/19/97
Pearl , Mississippi 10/1/97
West Paducah , Kentucky 12/1/97
Stamp, Arkansas 12/15/97
Jonesboro , Arkansas 3/24/98
Edinboro , Pennsylvania 4/24/98
Fayetteville , Tennessee 5/19/98
Springfield , Oregon 5/21/98
Richmond , Virginia 6/15/98
Littleton , Colorado 4/20/99
Taber , Alberta , Canada 5/28/99
Conyers , Georgia 5/20/99
Deming , New Mexico 11/19/99
Fort Gibson , Oklahoma 12/6/99
Santee , California 3/ 5/01
El Cajon , California 3/22/01
and Virginia Tech., 4/16/07?

Sincerely, Concerned Student

Reply:
Dear Concerned Student:
I am not allowed in schools.
Sincerely,
God

How did this get started?...
Let's see,
I think it started when Madeline Murray O'Hare complained she didn't want any prayer in our schools. And we said, OK.

Then, someone said you better not read the Bible in school, the Bible that says "thou shalt not kill, hou shalt not steal, and love your neighbors as yourself," And we said, OK...

Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehaved because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem. And we said, an expert should know what he's talking about so we won't spank them anymore.

Then someone said teachers and principals better not discipline our children when they misbehave. And the school administrators said no faculty member in this school better touch a student when they misbehave because we don't want any bad publicity, and we surely don't want to be sued. And we accepted their reasoning...

And the entertainment industry said, let's make TV shows and movies that promote profanity, violence and illicit sex... And let's record music that encourages rape, drugs, murder, suicide, and satanic themes... And we said, it's just entertainment and it has no adverse effect and nobody takes it seriously anyway, so go right ahead.

Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, classmates or even themselves.
Undoubtedly, if we thought about it long and hard enough, we could figure it out. I'm sure it has a great deal to do with... "WE REAP WHAT WE SOW,"

Pass it on if you think it has merit! If not then just discard it...but if you discard this thought process, then don't you dare sit back and complain about what bad shape this country is in In God We Trust

I think that the separation of church and state got carried too far in removing prayer from schools, but I also think it is par for the course when it comes to schools. Freedom of religion is just one more right that children in schools are prevented from exercising, along with too many more to list here. But to say that not spanking our kids, or paddling them in school is what brought about the demise of our country is just plain bogus. Spankings, and much worse, occur all the time in this country. Paddling is still legal in many state schools! Children continue to die at the hands of the very people entrusted to keep them safe and help them flourish. Not to mention all the research which shows violent criminals were usually mistreated as children. Yes... we do reap what we sow!

How much more obvious could it be?!

The Center for Effective Discipline

SPANKOUT DAY USA

For those who weren't already aware, yesterday was SPANKOUT DAY, which "was initiated in 1998 to give widespread attention to the need to end corporal punishment of children and to promote non-violent ways of teaching children appropriate behavior. EPOCH-USA (End Physical Punishment of Children) sponsors SpankOut Day USA on April 30th of each year. All parents, guardians, and caregivers are encouraged to refrain from hitting children on this day, and to seek alternative methods of discipline through programs available in community agencies, churches and schools." If you want an idea of how widespread and accepted hitting people (who happen to be under the age of 18) is in our country, check out "2007 Kindness to Children Index". It is encouraging to see that some countries have outlawed all hitting of children, in all settings. Can you imagine that happening here in the USA? Let's do more than imagine. Let's make it a reality!!!


Until then, here's some food for thought about how wonderful it can be, how wonderful it IS, when children are given love and kindness rather than being attacked for being children.


THE DAILY GROOVE ~ by Scott Noelle
www.enjoyparenting.com/dailygroove

:: The Trickle-Down Theory of Human Kindness ::

In peaceful "primitive" cultures, kindness is
sustained from generation to generation by a kind of
"trickle-down" effect. At its core is the commonly
held value of serving and delighting younger people,
especially babies.

Adults appreciate and support the delight of adolescents,
who delight in the joy of prepubescents,
who enjoy entertaining younger children,
who love to carry babies and play with toddlers.

The elegance of this top-down, pleasure-oriented value
system is that the youngest people receive the most
(and give the least) at the developmental stage when
they're naturally narcissistic, while those who give more
are more adept at deriving joy from giving.

In contrast...

Adults in our culture often *fear* adolescents,
who call prepubescents "dweebs,"
who disparagingly call younger children "babies,"
who compete with real babies for scarce love and attention.

When your children behave unkindly, remember that you
can't enforce authentic kindness. Instead, let it
trickle down by *modeling* unconditional generosity.
Using your creativity, find a way to serve and delight
both "aggressor" and "victim" ...and yourself, too!

http://dailygroove.net/trickle-down

Feel free to forward this message to your friends!
(Please include this paragraph and everything above.)
Copyright (c) 2007 by Scott Noelle

I FEEL THE SAME WAY ABOUT SPANKING, ABE!!!

Whenever I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally. Abraham Lincoln



http://www.nospank.net/main.htm