Readers' views: Teachers' physical contact with children

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Primary school teachers are being told that it is OK to touch children to comfort or praise them by their union the New Zealand Educational Institute.

The advice is a significant shift from its previous policy, which was introduced in 1998 following widespread community concern after Peter Ellis was convicted for sexually abusing children at the Christchurch Civic Childcare Centre.

We asked whether you thought it was okay for teachers to touch children? Was the institute simply showing common sense, or was it opening up children to abuse and teachers to allegations of inappropriate behaviour?

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As a New Zealand mother of a 3-year-old living in China, I am delighted that my daughter's kindergarten here has several male teachers, all of whom show the children as much affection and care as the female teachers do. My daughter's teachers were not male, but she interacted with the male teachers at other times. Here in China, when many of the students I teach at university first come here from high school, they have led such wonderfully innocent lives that they are frankly unaware that there is such a thing as paedophiles. I wish I could say the same about New Zealand school leavers. Surely this change of policy can only be a good thing.

-Julie Collard

About damn time. However, was I the only person who read the "Sometimes kids need hugs" story and thought "The media must shoulder a HUGE amount of the blame for where we currently are"? To me, the entire tone of the story said that only men abuse children. That's patent nonsense, but it is treated as holy writ. The lack of balance on that topic has been, and continues to be, a pervasive issue. y beating the Peter Ellis situation up beyond all recognition, despite seriously flawed evidence, the media successfully demonised male educators. Bravo, oh Fourth Estate. I hope you're pleased that it's only taken eight years for this particular legacy to be partially reversed.

- Matthew Poole

As a father of three, I am thrilled at this 'reality check' in attitude. My wife and I send our two boys to a private kindergarten and are very pleased at the level of affection they receive from the teachers. I am personally convinced that this helps in creating a strong bond between teacher and child and significantly aids in the learning process. Young children need comfort at times and in most centres it would be difficult if not impossible for most children to experience inappropriate contact from a teacher.

- Menno Regtien

It is so good to see that New Zealand is slowly coming out of the emotional ice age. I must say, as much as I find Kiwis pleasant and friendly, it never ceases to surprise me how emotionally restrained and self conscious they generally are. I am so glad that now there is a chance this whole no-touching nonsense is finally on its way out. Children need tenderness and reassurance. It can only be a bonus if teachers can be free from the constraints put on them by the PC mindlessness.

-AC

As a widowed mother of 2 pre-school boys and one with special needs that is about to start school, I emphatically welcome these changes. In this 'PC mad' world I do despair that there are so few positive male role models for my son's in their early education years. I can only hope that this improves for my son's sake, but am dismayed that it has to be 'legislated'.

- Nicki Steers

I totally support this move by NZEI, teachers should very well be okay to touch children in such way to praise and comfort them. Physical contact in teaching is essential especially in early-childhood learning, it's so rewarding when infants/toddles over-come obstacles and for that each child deserves all the praise in that moment, a 'hug well-done' encourages children to further their development when they feel hands-on support from their teachers.

- Caroline Ransfield

I'm really pleased about this, and I think it's a very good move. In my opinion, it should definitely be okay for teachers to touch children to offer comfort or praise. Touch is so important to children, especially younger kids, and getting positive attention from a teacher can do wonders for a child's self-esteem. It gives an extra level of support and interaction outside the home, which I think is a very good thing. I also hope that this might mean we can start encouraging more men to think about teaching as a career. I'm not surprised that men have been staying away from teaching, given the level of paranoia from certain circles about them interacting with children. But hopefully, this might be a sign that we're moving past some of the PC madness that has engulfed this country. Nice to see some progress!

- Caroline

I personally think the world has gone completely mad and all the Politically Correct Idiots around are just making life so complicated and abnormal!!! It's so sad that we actually have to think about putting these regulations into place and that we can't just rely on common sense any more! Children spend the majority of their time at school -more so nowadays with babies and toddlers in daycare centres at an early age. They need to be shown affection, praised when they've done well and comforted when they hurt themselves. Yes there are paedophiles around and it's a horrible thing but we can't treat every single person who comes into contact with our children as a possible suspect! Do you really think a paedophile is going to care what the law says anyway… Without any physical contact from role models such as teachers I think the next generation of children would be cold, feel unloved and would be completely paranoid and an even more paranoid society than today's definitely wouldn't be a good thing! My son is going to be one of those next generation children as he starts school next year and I have no problem whatsoever with teachers going near him and comforting him when he's upset or giving him a pat on the back when he's done well - I just hope the new guidelines will stay and enable that and in the future I'm not going to need to sign a permission slip for that to happen!!!!

- Jennie

The irony of the whole situation is that the hysteria that created these insane instructions was based on a case that has looked ever since flawed. Most people I know or talk to believe Peter Ellis is innocent and I fear that with the relaxing, some other teacher with their heart in the right place is going to be put in the firing line by our paranoia.

- Jeff Rosie

I believe this is more an issue for parents to educate their children on the difference between a bad and good touch. Then encourage them to be open about it so they are not afraid to speak up if it's a bad touch. I agree that the world is becoming too PC but I don't think the person who looked into this issue is an idiot. Be careful that in our efforts to keep our children's world "normal", we forget that paedophiles are people and teachers are people. The two can easily cross paths. I'm all for a hug and a pat on the back for encouragement but we can't be naive to the fact that not "every" hug is for encouragement.

- Serra Petaia

Teachers can't touch their students because some paedophile abused the position. Parents can't discipline their children because some people don't know the difference between discipline and assault.

Come on people! When is all this PC over-reaction going to stop? Punish the criminals not the victims. Our children are growing up in an artificial, over-protected, unrealistic dream world ruled by preventative PC protection. It's no wonder they can't behave. The world is not perfect. Educate the children and punish the perpetrators.

- Mike

I am pleased with this new development... although I can see that there are reasons for the extreme caution that has been taken about teacher's touching children, there are paedophiles out there. And that is a sad fact of this fallen world. But I believe that the way that this problem should be attacked is not by slapping regulations on the touching of children but by screening better those who are becoming teachers. I mean, if a paedophile is in the business of teaching, a law against touching children isn't actually going to stop him. He will be breaking the law in doing what he want's to do anyway. Being at teacher's training college at the moment, I know that there is a huge lack of males involved in this vitally important sector. In one particular classroom that I have been in, I realised how important that it is to have caring, male role models for the children... i know this class really benefited from having the teacher that they did.

Good on the teacher's union!

- Elizabeth Read

Of course its alright to touch children! What idiot ever said that it wasn't.

- TD

I am a 20-year-old male who has wanted to join the teaching force for many years now, but have been put off with the amount of criticism given to me for wanting to teach young children. I feel we do need more males in the schools, especially primary, but with the way you are looked at I don't blame any male who does not do it. People seem to think that you have other intentions, and with the way the world is I don't blame them but you can not discriminate against all males. The children need strong male role models in the classroom, especially the ones who don't have that at home.

- James

It definitely should be OK to be able to touch and interact with children. I know of cases personally - one where two children have been fighting in a classroom and the teacher pulled one child off another by his jersey to separate them and he got fired. It's just got WAYYY too PC, especially with the decline in male teachers. A male only has to look at a child wrong and you're up on molestation charges.

- Joseph Francis

I am a young, male trainee teacher. Finally New Zealand has got its head out of the PC cloud we have been living under. Maybe now I can have someone of the male persuasion to talk to in the staffroom. The school I've been training at has not one male role model for their kids. What kind of messages are we sending children in this day and age? Imagine your little girl coming home asking, "Mummy, why are there no men teachers at my school?". "Because a lot of the mummies think they are all paedophiles". I think its disgusting for anyone to imply, because of one isolated case, that I would give a young girl a hug for no other reason than to comfort that child. It just makes me so sad, and scared to even give a pat on the shoulder to someone who might really deserve it and who may never have received one before. In this day and age, its crucial children receive some kind of male contact, because the reality is, a lot of kids have no dads in their lives, or any males for that matter. Its great to see the union waking up to the fact that we as a nation can't afford to be raised by a purely female orientated education system. Parents have been screaming for it for years, its just the few that have ruined it for everyone. Not all of us hairy males want to harm your children. We just want to teach them. Thats all.

- Glen Young

Sometimes the only positive into a child will come from a teacher. Touch is so important to a child's well-being, as proven by studies around the world. Common sense must prevail.

- Marguerite Keir

Can you even imagine watching a little child fall over and hurt themselves and be crying and not being able to console them except for standing in front of them and saying "There, there." Young children need touch to show someone is there for them, just as much as they need the actual education. Do you know how great it feels to get a bit of a tap on the back or shoulder to say "Well done!" when a child has achieves a milestone, or creates something awesome they are especially proud of, that tap might be the icing on the cake for them. Be realistic, children need this affection and I would be gutted to find when my daughter is desperate for a hug her teacher wouldn't give it.

Regards

- Shelley Lock

What kind of a crazy PC world are we living in? We need permission for teachers to touch children to comfort them?? Is anyone touching a child seen as a paedophile? I must say this kind of attitude seems to be prevalent only in Western society. Before we started living in this kind of society, we never even thought of such a possibility!!

- Shiv Kumar