Stop beating on Sweden's
parents!
By Caroline Olsson
Translation: Ruby Harrold-Claesson, Lawyer,
President of the NCHR
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This article was previously published on, Newsmill.se
- 2009-12-03 Sluta slå på Sveriges föräldrar!
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Swedish authorities and legal institutions have
a negative attitude towards parenthood, which is not good for the relationship
between children and parents. Many children need more time with their parents
to feel safe. Now the government intends be even stricter with school
attendance, and even prevent parents who want to take care of their children's
schooling, so-called Home-schooling. They are also negative to children's
absence from school for travel with their families, and in general they
announce "tougher measures" which will not help the confused
children.
Children need their parents as life-coaches, but there is so little time in
today's stressful society. Children need a solid relationship with an adult to
find their identity, and develop their personalities in a natural way.
Swedish society does not respect parenthood. Parents are seen as some sort of
service to the school system, which will ensure the provision of children who
are rested, fed, have done their homework and are interested in going to
school.
I am sure that very many of the problems of today's society, have arisen
precisely because time for children and parents to be together has shrunk. This
has happened gradually, and perhaps imperceptibly. We have given priority to
other things, and now we need to wake up and see that too many children are
suffering.
Those in power do not see this connection, so now they want to legislate more
stringent attendance at school and even "tougher measures". They want
to prevent parents who have the opportunity to take responsibility for their
children's schooling, so-called Home-schooling, by requiring "special
reasons". It will also be more difficult to get time off from school for
example to travel with the family. They have not tried to find out how very
many children suffer today in the schools, due to bullying, harassment, and the
like. Politicians talk about the "right to education", as if there
are no problems in the schools. Many children and young people are experiencing
the "right" to attend school and social interaction, which the
politicians are talking about, rather like a prison and a torment. A very large
proportion of children today are exhibiting anxiety about going to school.
Politicians say: "We must have schools, because we have had them since the
1800s." Usually it would not be so modern for you to say that something is
from the 1800s. We are living in a completely different society now. Back then
they wanted to increase public knowledge. But now the level of education of most
adults is much higher than primary school, so now there is no reason to force
all children to go to school, if the parents have other options.
The Government's new Education Act Bill sends out a very serious message to all
the parents in this country. We are now being prohibited from giving our
children a better alternative to going to school. Parents are simply not
allowed to judge what is good for their own children.
Sweden needs a new approach to parenthood. We need to see parents as experts on
their children. The solution is not to pull children away from their parents
even more, but to support children and parents, to make use of all the time
they can get to spend together.
Sweden is selling out the immense power that parents' responsibility for their
children represents. This is a disaster. We cannot afford to do without it. It
is upon that power that a society rests. If you who are in power continue to
display this negative attitude, you will undermine the whole society. You
cannot replace parenting by doubling the number of school nurses and
counsellors. Parenthood cannot be substituted at all. Your animosity towards
parents will only cost countless extra billions.
Sluta
slå på Sveriges föräldrar!
By Caroline Olsson