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Issue #31, Spring 2005
Cover31

Features:

buttonBaby burnout.
With so much parenting information out there, the pressure is there to parent "right" and produce confident and competent offspring. Has it all gone too far? Hugh Joughin tries to provide some answers.

buttonYour child and booze.
 Alcohol has been around for centuries, and there is a fairly high chance that you and your children will have to deal with it in some way.

buttonChild labour in NZ?
Not in our backyard surely.  Mark Stephenson takes a look.

buttonOn The Move Again
Steve Wallace makes the move, with his family, to central Otago.

 buttonCollective breastfeeding.
The success or otherwise of breastfeeding depends a lot on what fathers do. Harald Breiding-Buss reports.

buttonBorn to lead.
Where will we find our moral leaders now? Brendon Smith offers his opinion.


  In Brief:

Judicial Conduct Commissioner appointed

A new judicial complaints process became reality from August 1 2005, with “The Judicial Conduct Commissioner and Judicial Conduct Panel Act 2004” coming into effect. According to the media statement issued by the government, the Act “establishes a transparent and accessible process for people to make complaints about the conduct of Judges, and allows for a full investigation of those complaints”.

Ian Haynes ONZM has been appointed to the role of Judicial Conduct Commissioner. Attorney General Michael Cullen described Mr. Haynes as a “long-standing and prominent member of the legal profession” and said he was “superbly qualified for the job”.

The Act aims to strengthen the link between complainants, parliament, and the courts. If a complaint is upheld, governments can now effectively remove a judge on the basis of that complaint. This has big consequences for parents who have felt either powerless in court cases involving the custody of their children, or that they were treated unfairly by a judge or other official in the Family Court.

More details can be obtained from the Ministry of Justice website www.justice.govt.nz or telephone Wellington (04) 918 8800

Survey focuses on smacking

A new survey of discipline in the home claims to have found physical punishment is used extensively on children. The study, commissioned by the Save the Children charity, interviewed 80 children aged five to 14 years. It found that 92% of the children had experienced hitting or smacking and 40% of five to seven-year-olds reported being hit around the face, head or back.

Survey author Terry Dobbs says many of the children said they were hit out of anger. The majority said being smacked was often the first reaction of parents to something they did wrong. They also reported they were most often smacked for hurting others and were hit more often by men.

Dobbs says "many" of the children "voiced concern about the dangers of smacking" and thought "other types of punishment would be more effective". Save the Children says the research shows too many children are on the receiving end of physical punishment. Children's advocates say the survey does accurately reflect what is happening in New Zealand. Former children's commissioner Dr Ian Hassall says New Zealanders do tend to hit children and surveys such as this one are useful as it makes people face the truth.