BY JON LINDLEY C. AGUSTIN
QUEZON CITY, PHILIPPINES - The ARTS (Advocate Right To Safety) Zone project of the Philippine Educational Theater Association, Inc. (PETA) turns spanks into kisses and belts into embraces, as they discussed the promotion of positive discipline of parents to children in a public consultation held at The PETA Theater Center last August 1.
Attended by PETA ARTS Zone Project partnersfrom the Department of Education, University of the Philippines Center for Women’s Studies, Ateneo de Manila University, social workers and guidance counselors, the public consultation discussed House Bill 4455, an act promoting positive and nonviolent discipline of children.The public consultation aims to gather views from these partners on the content of the bill, to include, examples considered as manifestations of Positive Discipline.
The proposed bill recognizes the vital role of the youth pool in nation-building and thus, their holistic development is necessary. When children are exposed to torture or punishment, they are taking the wrong way.
It advocates “positive and nonviolent discipline” of children at home and outdoors, assistance whenever these are violated, and disciplinary guidelines for parents.
The bill defines “corporal punishment” as blows such as beating, kicking, hitting, slapping, lashing to any part of the body, striking a child’s head, pulling hair, shaking or twisting joins, piercing skin, forcing a child to perform painful acts, neglecting the child’s needs, tying up a child, imprisoning a child, verbal abuse, and use of materials for punishment.
The bill also suggests more lenient forms of disciplinary actions such as “Beat-The-Clock” or using time to push for children to finish their tasks, “Grandma’s Rule” or allowing children to do what they please as soon as tasks are done, giving praises, and using the time after tantrums when children are usually calm, to give instructions. PETA ARTS Zone Project, however, is quite critical on these examples as they do not actually represent the essence of the Positive Discipline approach.
The ARTS Zone project is PETA’s theater and cultural campaign on children’s right to safety and protection from any form of violence and abuse, promoting positive discipline in place of corporal punishment. The project is supported by terre des hommes-Germany and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Just starting its second cycle (2012-2015), this program raises the level of advocacy “to eliminate or end corporal punishment of Filipino children and youth in the Philippines in terms of depth and breadth.”
For more information on the project, contact PETA at (02) 725-6244 and/or follow us on our social media pages.
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Twitter: @petatheater and @petaartszone
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