USA
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EPOCH-USA ('End Physical Punishment of Children') have collected images and words about children’s feelings about spanking. Children won small cash prizes for submitting their pictures and words.
Watch some videos of what the children said:
They also ran an essay contest – young people could enter by writing an essay about ‘Why Spanking is bad and what parents can do instead.’ 265 children and young people entered. Hear some children read the winning entry. More videos can be seen on EPOCH-USA's website.
Parenting for Peace, a small local organisation based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, also ran an essay competition at their town’s annual Peace Festival. Children wrote answers to the questions: "What kind of discipline works best in your family? What sort of discipline would you like your parents or caregivers to use with you?" Twenty-four middle-school children gave written responses. Many of them were published in a local newsletter.
Some children were involved in organising the Peace Festival and they also helped to organise the competition. A local school helped to publicise it. The adults and children who organised it wanted to spread this message:
"Let's have a dialogue about how children are raised, particularly how they are raised to be peaceful and to support peacemaking. Corporal punishment has been an important part of that dialogue."
Comments from the adults who ran the competitions: Parental approval is necessary to run some activities about corporal punishment with children, as there are laws about communicating with children on sensitive subjects.
Many parents support the use of corporal punishment – this can make it difficult for their children to take action against it.
Read more about the problems that children face in taking action, and how they solve them.