I did not intend to write tonight but JC’s comment, despite its qualifying words “most part” ……. IQ is hereditary for the most past leads me to respond.
I am not a supporter of many studies as in my experience the parametres and methodology are narrow or corrupt.
My response tonight tells a story, explaining why I treat much research or comments with caution until I have all of the data.
It refers to a study done in, I think, the 1940’s or 50’s. It was an IQ study done of children from an American city. The study group comprised equally of white and Negro children.
The result was that the whites came out with superior IQ figures and the Negro children very poorly.
It is a credit to the intelligence of the researcher undertaking the study that when completed he gave the results some thought, finding he was uncomfortable about the outcome, so decided to do another one.
This time he looked at the socio-economic backgrounds of the children and then built the test around someone with the Negro background.
Result? The whites failed miserably, if anything gave a poorer result that the Negros previously.
This demonstrates just how careful we need to be when setting up the parameters, etc of research.
This research proved to me that IQ is not a result of genes and while it might have some influence the greater influence can be the socio-economic circumstances.
The both groups performed in accordance with their understanding of the level of education, language, grammar, local dialects as well. These are just a few reasons why such a test would not be accurate.
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I said in earlier comments, I stated that one of the areas that takes my interest as a community advocate, are children, specifically disabled children.
I remember one case of an autistic child who also had a communication problem caused by his being born partially deaf. When he was a baby (between 0 -5.5), he would go into “meltdown” when no one could understand what he was trying to communicate.
A sole parent, she had to take this child shopping with her as there was no support or child minding, so she was frequently faced with “tutting” disapproval glances from those who considered her a bad parent.
The mother frequently was approached by “do gooders” and informed the mother she needed to discipline her child better. A good smack on the backside would teach him to behave himself.
Would it? You are autistic and almost deaf. I would think that all of us would misbehave in such a situation.
His autism was such that mentally he spaced out when taken from his home (comfort zone). Take for example a visit to a super market. What is there that would freak such a child?
To understand the problems of an autistic child would take some time and not needed here, except to point out one of the problems that can be part of the condition and that is that there brain can going into overload as it tries to interpret all that is going around, e.g. colour, space, noise shapes, immense corridors (shelving) filled with all sorts of objects. To top it off there are giants (average people) towering over the child plus music that is not necessarily quietening to such a child. Wow!
Even coming to the store there is a busy highway with monstrous trucks and cars.
Need I go on?
I will.
Taking the child shopping could turn into an hour or two ordeals when it could have taken only a few minutes to get to the supermarket. The child would be kicking and screaming wanting to go home. Put his feet into the wheels of the pram, until we were able to get her one of those “jogger three wheeler prams. Later she could take him walking with her, as long as something did not happen to child his routine when he was going and she had him on a lead, e.g. an owner of one house on the way decided to pull the old brick fence down. This upset the child and he went into “meltdown”.
This paragraph only explains walking to the shop. Doing the shop came next and then there was the trip home with the groceries as well. Many times the mother has had to leave the shop and come home because of the way people behaved to her. I would advise people be careful before you are critical and until you have fitted yourself into the shoes of parents like this and walked their mile.
As an advocate I tried to negotiate to get government support to have the kiddy’s hearing fixed, only to be told that there were thousands of other Australian children on waiting lists, so why should the government give preferential treatment. Let him go on the waiting list. It was not until he was one year from commencing primary school that he was given a final conclusive diagnosis and the government found he was a disabled child. Well that changed things. The government assisted disabled children from all over the world, do of course it could help.
Why am I so cynical when dealing with government bureaucrats?
This child had to then learn to speak and communicate his needs, plus also understand others. You can imagine the damage that has been done to his development at such a critical age.
He is coming along well now, although is subject to meltdowns still but not so frequently. I doubt he will ever pick up the lost time as he does have some intellectual problems. His progress develops mainly form rote learning and a rigid routine. He goes to a special school now and I can say it has done wonders for him. The role of such a school is to try and prepare him to live on his own as an adult. Whether that will be fully achieved no one knows but every skill he learn allows him to live quieter and with less stress. Often as we might curse them computers and video type games have done a good job with his development.
Australian governments, bureaucrats and policy developers have failed the Australian people and especially those who are frail, ill, disabled right through all age brackets. Our legal, health and medical systems are a disaster and far behind most European countries and need I say some developing third world countries.
Well I had better stop here before I go into other tangents.

Good night all sleep tight
Professori_au

And then there’s the cases of child abuse where kids are killed (often by the mother who gave birth to the child).

LE – criminal case facts show a child is just as likely to be abused / killed by their mother as their father or “other” parent. Please don’t perpetuate the myth that males as the dominant force in child abuse.

I don’t care who does it – it is despicable and what I’d like to see happen to them is not fit for posting.

Back to smacking – It takes a lot more time, energy and willpower to discipline children without smacking. Smacking is the lazy way out. I have found a child even as young as 1 yr old can be told if what s/he is doing is wrong or right. They get the message loud and clear.

It is not easy, and stopping yourself raising your voice / keeping anger out, is something I find extremely challenging as well.

re new laws on shared parenting – how many males suicided due to being denied contact? I would hate to see kids traumatised by being “forced” into contact – this is one area where the Court has long struggled to figure out what is best.

What I’d like considered is for there to be a ban on any Court action over contact for the first year post separation unless a child is in danger or contact wholly denied. Give the parents a year to get over their relationship while maintaining as much status quo for the children as possible.

I spent a few years in this area and it was enough. Too many heart breaking stories.

But I did manage to help get a child back from Italy, so that was pretty cool, especially as the mum who took off was a nutcase who eventually ended up with supervised contact until she could sort herself out.

Don’t make a contract with a toddler. They don’t keep their promises.

It can work, you just need to require payment in advance