"She was a young mother in the days when people still believed in the idea of “Spare the rod and spoil the child” – or rather, she didn’t really believe in it, but one day when her little boy did something naughty, she decided he had to have a good hiding, the first one of his life. She told him to go out and find a suitably supple stick or rod for her to use. The little boy was away for a long time. He eventually came back in tears and announced: “I can’t find a rod, but here’s a stone you can throw at me.” At which point his mother also burst into tears, because it had suddenly dawned on her how her little boy must have regarded what was about to happen. He must have thought: “My mum wants to hurt me, and she can do that just as well by throwing a stone at me.”

She threw her arms round him, and they spent some time crying together. Then she placed the stone on a shelf in the kitchen, and it stayed there as a permanent reminder of the promise she had made to herself at that moment: never violence!"

-Astrid Lindgren

Gentle Hands Project

   The Gentle Hands Project is a movement to make family friendly spaces violence-free. That means no hitting, slapping, spanking, swatting, or any other form of corporal punishment. By designating areas as "Gentle Hands Zones" we call parents to be more aware of their actions. We create public knowledge of the detriments of corporal punishment and bring awareness to alternatives. Through education and support, we can help parents say no to violence against their children.


 



     If you would like to make your business a Gentle Hands Zone, please feel free to copy and print the above image for display. Not only do Gentle Hands Zones discourage parent-child violence, but they also prevent other little ones from seeing their peers hurt by adult hands. As a community, we can help to end the cycle of family violence. 


    If you would like to add your voice to our project by having your name appear on our letters requesting Gentle Hands Zones, please comment below "Signed, Your Name". 


8 comments:

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)