The Nelson Mail, Friday, 07 December 2007
By SALLY KIDSON – A Nelson father charged with assaulting his son, in one of the region’s first prosecutions under a controversial new child discipline law, says he is prepared to go to jail for his right as a parent and a Christian to hit his child.
Rowan Flynn has been charged with two counts of assaulting his 11-year-old son under the new legislation, which came into effect in June and removed a parent’s right to use “reasonable force” when disciplining a child.
The 52-year-old denied the charges when he appeared in the Nelson District Court this week, and has chosen to have a judge and jury hear the case.
Mr Flynn, who has four children, told the Nelson Mail his son called the police two weeks ago after he hit the boy.
Mr Flynn disputes the police summary of facts. He estimated that he hit his son five times on the bottom with a wooden spoon after he was disobedient, and said it was a “tiny issue” that blew up.
While the police visited him at home to talk to him, they did not take any action at that stage, he said.
“But I made it quite clear to the cop that if it was needed again, I would smack.”
Mr Flynn said that about a week later, he “clipped” his son around the face.
Several days later, he was at home cooking dinner when the police arrived and he was arrested.
Mr Flynn said he wanted to speak out about his case because he thought he would not have been charged under the old law.
“I believe very strongly in smacking as a form of discipline. I’m a Christian, and believe it’s what I’ve been commanded to do.
“I’m not going to lay down and take it. I’m going to kick and scream to the very end.”
He said he only occasionally used the wooden spoon, when his son’s behaviour was particularly bad.
He believed that passages in the Bible gave him the right to use the spoon, or “rod”.
“Parents must have the right to correct their children and give them a good whack if that’s what they need.
“All this law is doing is making criminals out of good parents. I’m not afraid to say `I smack my kids’.”
He believed that smacking was effective because it was an immediate form of discipline.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/nelsonmail/4315763a6007.html
Nice; its okay for kids to be beaten up because a book said so, but don’t you dare play a “violent” video game.
i think this mahn mr flynn is totally out of control..using christianity to hit his son is a pathetic excuse..did god come down to you and say “you have a right to hit your son”?
i believe that the anti-smacking law is one that all should be in favour of there has been to many children dieing of abuse..not that im saying mr flynn is going to beat his child that bad..but from my background i believe that violence as a form of punishment should be banned..violence isnt an answer for anything and in the end if beatin or smacked too much the child starts to resent the parent or to look up to them in a sence of fear and thus wanting to shed that on to the next generation..and being a gaming freak myself i think that not all video games are as bad as you think i think its more or less what we see on t.v..wrestling is a great source of the violence we find in playgrounds and what is done in the home on our own personal gaming devices should not be chamged or altered by the law..