Guest Blog – I-SS axes corporal punishment policy

ByDorothy M. Neddermeyer Ph.D.

The Iredell-Statesville Schools Board of Education decided to wipe the district’s corporal punishment policy from the books during its monthly meeting Monday.

The board moved to strike down the policy in response to the North Carolina General Assembly’s recent ruling that districts with corporal punishment guidelines on their books can use them on students with disabilities if parents grant permission. That ruling would have forced I-SS to distribute some 2,500 letters to parents informing them of the policy and offering them an opportunity to either waive or accept it to be used on their children.

I-SS already had a directive in place against the use of corporal punishment.

Guest Blog – Court ruling isn’t a green light for parents to whack kids

ByDorothy M. Neddermeyer Ph.D.

Let’s be clear to parents who believe the courts just awarded them a freebie: Adults should stop hitting kids, no matter what judges or the spare-the-rod numskulls say. Those of us who were smacked around as children realize our lives would have been better without the welts. Prisons are filled with men and women who were beaten as children.

Americans are making progress. A report last year

How To Shift The ‘Fit In’ Paradigm

ByDorothy M. Neddermeyer Ph.D.

More often than not, children are conditioned and rewarded to ‘fit in,’ through parental indoctrination, media, advertising and social establishments—religion, culture, education and society. While children need to learn manners, social etiquette, values and integrity, they also need guidance to experience life on their terms. Expressing one’s uniqueness against these multi-layered ‘fit in,’ messages are difficult to navigate. As you contemplate how drastically your life will change when you integrate these bold concepts into your day-to-day experience, you may feel a growing sense of pride. As you step out of the ‘fit in,’ paradigm, you might notice yourself being eager to resist the path of conformity. You will notice you are no longer subject to the pressure others put upon you to play by the rules.

Guest Blog – Spanked Children Hitting Back

ByDorothy M. Neddermeyer Ph.D.

JUST two smacks to your three-year-old can lead to a violent primary schooler, new international research has shown.

Infrequent use of spanking defined as one or two times a month doubled the risk of aggression in five-year-olds.

It is the first time research has shown increased aggression could not be explained away by other factors, such as high stress in the mother or maltreatment or neglect of the child.

Child psychologist Bob Montgomery has called for a public health campaign to cut out smacking.

Dr Montgomery believes this would lead to a reduction in schoolyard and street violence.

Prevention starts in the home and skills learnt from parenting programs such as the Triple P parenting course could alter lives, Dr Montgomery said.