Everyone knows that Singapore is famous for caning people. Most countries probably do it, but they don't make "lashes" general sentences for crimes. In Singapore they cane openly.
Yesterday in the newspaper, there was a story about a woman who is jailed because she knew about and watched her husband cane their son to an inhumane degree (he was punished as well, but at another time).
There was a follow up article on caning your children. The following points were included (mostly quotes by an expert), and it HORRIFIED me and Matt was totally okay with it. He said he will never hit or cane our kids, but he also said that he doesn't necessarily think it's wrong. This is a conversation for another posting.
"If you hit your child in a fit of anger, you are teaching him that violence is acceptable." (doesn't caning teach them that violence is acceptable?)
"If you must use the cane, calm down, and explain your actions before carrying out the punishment." (MUST?)
"It is generally accepted that abuse occurs if the child's skin is broken or bleeds during caning. Some parts of the body, such as the face and private parts, are also considered no-go zones...Caning a child too often can also be considered abuse."
2 comments:
Hi Melanie
Thanks for looking after the cats again!
I was at a Kung Fu class and the guy I was training with (a very successful Singaporean businessman) was in shorts. He had these strange looking marks up the insides of his knees and up his legs. They were really very noticeable indeed and some looked quite old. I innocently asked him what they were from and he told me that every time he canes his child he canes himself twice for each stroke the child gets, on the basis it it his his failing as a parent that the child has misbehaved.
I did say that I did not agree with him on that although it was an interesting point of view.
All the best to you and Matt!
Berni
Whoa! Interesting!! Thanks for sharing!! We said bye to Cyrus and Seiku - our house is so different without them! Hope all is well.
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