Monday, January 30, 2012

To Train Up A Child

You may have noticed the "Why Not Train A Child" button on the side of my blog.  If not, let me draw your attention to it now and to the issue it represents.  The book To Train Up A Child, written by Micheal Pearl is, simply put, a child abuse manual.  In the book, he tells parents to use a plumbing supply line to beat their children into submission, starting as young as 6 months old, and claims that this is Biblical advise.  Several children have died as a result of their parents following the methods in this book.  I could go on, but thanks to the work of Linda at Why Not Train A Child, I can just send you there where many bloggers have covered the book in depth.

Please take the time to read the information on her site, if you are not already familiar with this book.  Then if you are outraged, there is something you can do!  Here is the facebook page of the petition to Amazon asking them to stop selling this book.  Here is the petition itself.  And the blog of the woman who started the petition.  The purpose of the petition is to pressure Amazon to stop selling the book (and other similar books), so that it will not be so readily available to parents who are desperately seeking godly answers and might fall into this very ungodly trap.  Hopefully, it will also encourage them to look into WHY they can't find the book easily, and perhaps they will stumble across better information in the process. 

You may find that there are some people who do not support the book, but also don't support the petition.  They believe that this is censorship and that free speech should apply to anything, even the promotion of child abuse.  And they are right!  The government has NO place censoring this book.  This petition, however, is asking a PRIVATE business to stop selling it, because it violates the business's own policy of what they will carry.  This is Amazon customers informing Amazon of their demands.  It's no different than a customer speaking with the owner of a local bookstore about their choice to carry a book that is dangerous and reprehensible.

Please sign the petition!  And please spread the word via your blog or facebook page!

4 comments:

  1. Thanks for bringing this up.
    It makes me so upset that parents think that following that book is healthy or helpful for raising children. It is so sad with the children that have died at the hands of their parents and the mentality that children need to be punished to be good citizens or Godly Christians. I feel so angry for the children that are being treated like that. Why is it okay to make a child feel helpless and voiceless by the very people that are supposed to love and protect them. That book makes a home into a prison where the children are criminals and the parents are their prison guards. How twisted is that?

    I was raised in a Christian home where punishments are thought to be needed. It was never as bad as that book talks about, it was more like a laid back Dobson influence. It still sucked though. With my personality it was very hurtful, so I learned to numb my emotions, because it felt like no one wanted to listen to me. So growing up I felt voiceless with my parents and I still struggle with being honest because of that.

    Thank you and every other Mother that speaks up for children!

    I am 19yrs old and it has been such a blessing to read your stories about coming away from raising children with punishments.
    This is the way that I want to parent my future children, with respect and understanding.

    Hannah

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  2. Thanks for your thoughts, Hannah! I absolutely agree that these homes sound more like prisons than the type of refuge a home should be. I understand about the Dobson influences. I've seen people say that of course the type of abuse the Pearls promote is wrong, but children still need *some* punishment. It's just a totally different paradigm to relate to kids without punishments at all, as human beings instead of something to control. It's good to hear that you are thinking about these things before you have kids.

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  3. Thanks for replying, Emily
    What books or websites have helped you on your journey with parenting?
    Hannah

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  4. Websites:
    gentlechristianmothers.com
    sandradodd.com

    Books:
    The Bible
    Raising Our Children, Raising Ourselves
    Unconditional parenting
    Continuum Concept

    And many more, but those are the ones that first come to mind as the most influential.

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