Children Encouraged to Talk to Parents about Corporal Punishment

Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Most Hon. Juliet Holness, is encouraging children to tell their parents not to use corporal punishment to discipline them.

“Talk to Mommy and Daddy with respect; tell them do not hit you. Sit down and reason with you, and you reason with them, [but] reason with respect,” Mrs. Holness said, at the St. James Southern High Achievers Awards Ceremony, held at the Mount Carey Baptist Church in the parish, recently.

“So, when you have your differences, understand that God placed parents here, made you… and placed you in a position that you had to go to school, that you had principals, teachers, and parents to guide you, because you were never ‘born big’ and know everything,” Mrs. Holness added.

Corporal punishment is a method of discipline in which a supervising adult deliberately inflicts pain upon a child in response to a child’s unacceptable behaviour and/or inappropriate language.

Mrs. Holness commended the awardees for their achievements and encouraged them to continue to perform at a high level and not get distracted by their new environments at high school.

“What I want you to understand, is that you cannot drop this catch. When you get into first form, you are going to find students that you weren’t in class with before, a whole heap of noise and confusion, don’t get distracted,” she said.

The ceremony was held to award students in the constituency who had outstanding performances in the Primary Exit Profile (PEP) examinations this year.

Top-performing boy in the constituency, Demar Hines, told JIS News that he was “very excited and happy [to be awarded], because me and my mom’s hard work has paid off”.

Young Demar, who recently graduated from Vaughansfield Primary and Infant School, will be attending Herbert Morrison Technical High School in St. James, come September.

For her part, Demar’s mother, Melissa Willoughby, told journalists that her son’s achievements have almost rendered her speechless.

“I am so proud of him; I knew he could do it. Each day I am getting better and better news about his hard work and his awards, and I’m really thankful,” she said.

She attributes his success to his hard work and the fact that she is an active parent. “I am always at school with him if there is a parent-teacher meeting. I’m always assisting with assignments and projects, and I encourage him to study and do reviews [of his work]. I am always behind him. There is also great communication with the teachers, so this is the result we are getting,” she said.

For her part, top girl in the constituency, Nekorah Grey, said she was proud of herself.

The recent Anchovy Primary graduate will be attending the Montego Bay High School for Girls next month.

Nekorah told JIS News that she wishes to pursue a career in criminal defence law in the future.

Some 108 students from 15 primary schools across the constituency were awarded. They were awarded certificates, book vouchers worth $10,000 and $10,000 cash.