No.1 Issue for 2008 - Government Respect For Role of Parents
Family First NZ has identified government respect for parents as the number 1 issue for 2008.
"Politicians, with the support of UN Conventions, the Children's Commissioner and Youth Law Project to name a few, have
sought to increase children's rights without considering the vital role of parents," says Bob McCoskrie, National
Director of Family First NZ. "Parents understandably feel undervalued, under-resourced and under suspicion."
Recent examples include:
* a teenager who attempted to use the Care of Children Act to 'divorce' her parent because she didn't like the family
rules
* the Privacy Act being quoted by the Police as justification for hiding the whereabouts of a 16 year old runaway
daughter from her concerned parents
* CYF and Police failing to prosecute a 21 year old who admitted having sex with a girl under the age of 12
* the anti-smacking law which sent a clear message to parents that the State and its agencies know better how to raise
children even if parents are reasonably and responsibly correcting their children. (Ironically Sue Bradford stated in an
interview last week that the law was never intended to solve the problem of child abuse and violence)
* continued lack of an independent CYF Complaints Authority despite repeated calls for one and an increasing number of
families being adversely impacted by the actions and decisions of social workers (acknowledged by a recently released
book by senior social workers) without an avenue of appeal for the parents
* children as young as five have been told off for bringing yoghurt, muesli bars, salad rolls and juice to school as
over-zealous teachers try to enforce healthy eating rules - despite parents pleading to be allowed to give their
children the occasional treat
* parents concerned about the graphic nature of information regarding the meningococcal B campaign provided to children
at school, mostly without consent (study published in the New Zealand Medical Journal)
* a suggestion by National's education spokeswoman Katherine Rich that the government should penalise parents who take
their children out of school for a family holiday, yet failing to identify or target dysfunctional families where
ongoing truancy is condoned or ignored by the parents
* proposal by the Children's Commissioner to screen every child's home, threatening to refer good parents who resist
this intrusion, to social welfare agencies, while failing to target the real abusers and provide the necessary services
for young and new parents
* young girls (some well under the age of sexual consent) being sneaked off by schools to get contraceptives or an
abortion without any parental knowledge or consent yet these same kids have to get parental permission to go on a school
trip to the zoo
Mr McCoskrie says "On one hand, a parent is responsible for the actions of their child in the community and school, and
meeting their emotional, financial and physical needs, yet at the same time their role is being undermined, and weakened
by laws and policies which bypass the input of parents and treat them like a sub-contractor."
"The huge irony is that the more the state undermines the role and authority of parents, the less responsibility parents
will feel they should take for their children," says Mr McCoskrie.
"If the government wants parents to be responsible parents, they must firstly respect their role."
Family First will continue to monitor policies from all the political parties in Election 2008 and test whether they
support and strengthen the role of parents, or create a 'rights' culture which pits children (and the State) against
their parents.
ENDS