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Prohibit Shaking and Hitting Infants
  1. Signatures
    819 out of 25,000
    Petitioning
    1. New Jersey Law Review Commission
  2. Created By
    Christine Clarke
    Mount Arlington, NJ
About this Petition Petition Letter
Why This Is Important

Dear Friends,

The New Jersey Law Review Commission is in the process of revisiting and revising the child welfare laws of our state.   In the course of this process, an addition had been written in to protect children under 2 from physical maltreatment including shaking and striking.

The request for the addition is in part because very young children are especially vulnerable to severe injury and death from shaking and striking.  Per the annual U.S. report Child Maltreatment, 3 children die every day in the U.S. from abuse.  Almost half of them are under 1 year of age, and over 75 percent are under age 3.  Hurting a baby is not just unkind, it's very dangerous.

The request is also in part due to babies' stages in cognitive development.  Infants are unable to see a parent's choice to strike them as reactionary to their own behavior, based on displeasure caused to the parent by the child prior to the strike.   Babies under age 2 do understand some simple cause and effect concepts as they grow, but not at that higher level yet.

The addition protecting babies from shaking and striking had been added to the definition of child abuse in the law prior to a recent meeting among concerned parties, including representatives from the Division of Youth and Family Services.    However, the line has since been removed.  There have been several questionable reasons given, but not one justifies a reasonable need for any parent or caretaker to shake or strike an infant. 

Thankfully, the state child law draft is still under review.   There is still a short window of time for action.  We as concerned parents and citizens can write letters asking to have the line protecting babies from shaking and beating added back into the draft.   There is still time to have it added back in before the draft goes up for a vote.

Please take a moment to send a letter in to the New Jersey Law Review Commission asking for infants to be protected from physical maltreatment, including shaking and hitting, IN the state law definition of child abuse.  

An email letter appears below.  If you would like to send a letter by postal mail, their address is:

New Jersey Law Review Commission
153 Halsey Street, 7th Floor
Newark, New Jersey 07102

There is no good reason to shake or strike a baby.  It is not unreasonable to add this common sense into law.  Adding this in will not only help with addressing infant abuse when it happens, but will go a long way toward prevention and awareness too.  

Children of all ages can enjoy more freedom from physical endangerment if new and expecting parents are taught that hitting their young children is unlawful.  This small change for small people can have a large and far reaching positive impact.

Thank you in advance for your help!

Recent Signatures

Title 9 Definition of Abuse

To Whom It May Concern:

I understand that the Title 9 section of New Jersey’s Permanent Statutes is presently up for review by the New Jersey Law Review Commission. The area of the law being considered and revised includes the state definition of child abuse.

There was a recent addition to the draft of this important area of the law which would protect children up to age 2 from physical abuse and maltreatment, including but not limited to shaking and striking. It was excellent. It said, under 9.6.A-1.a., "(1½) Disciplines the child by inflicting physical pain if the child is less than two years old."

For a series of reasons which did not actually justify any need on the part of a parent or caretaker to shake or strike children under 2, the proposed line protecting babies from shaking and striking was removed from the latest draft of Title 9.

Please add the line back in to the definition of abuse, even it must be rewritten so that the line omits words like 'disciplines' in favor of 'shakes' and 'punishes,' 'retaliates,' or simply 'intentionally inflicts physical pain' without mention of motive. The infant protection line belongs there.

There is no just cause for anyone to physically mistreat children, but especially a child who is too young to be capable of understanding a parent or caretaker's choice to strike or to shake the child as a reaction to displeasure with the child's own behavior. By no argument are those actions reasonable or justified if the child is incapable of understanding any motive for them.

Infants are also in the highest risk group for severe injury and death from shaking and hitting. 3 kids die every day from abuse in the U.S., and almost half of them are under 1 year old. Children under 3 make up more than 75 percent of those deaths.

The cruelty and danger of infant maltreatment is not a stretch of reason, but common sense. Common sense safety measures have a rightful place in the law.

Thank you in advance.

Respectfully,

[Your name]