Wow! You people are harsh. How dare the carer dole out punishment like that. I think all her job description would be to give time out as punishment if necessary. The boy said it was an accident. They do happen. I feel for all your kids, I really do. Hardly news though...

Well for goodness sake, this is a clear cut case of OTT. If you don't want your child to be punished, teach them the correct avenues of behaviour. I am a Nanny, and if either of the children I care for (ages 6 and 8) misbehave, they are often made to do chores. Punishments aren't meant to be pleasant! But they build character and teach important lessons. A lesson is obviously what this little brat needed, not to be coddled by his mother who obviously doesn't have the skills to teach him appropriate behaviours, or else he probably wouldn't be in a 'funded' childcare centre anyway.

If non violent punishment is illegal now too then its sure anyone but the governments fault if crime rises

Good stuff. Sounds like a fair punishment to me.

PW #144 02:12 pm Jun 17 2009 It seems the Green Party will be issuing a statement shortly on this serious breach of mana!

WHAT! Mana Island? geckos and wetas? they care more about that than a childs upbringing..and also if Nobel had too USE that toilet and it was filthy! he would also get germs, WAKE UP MUMMA FILI!

So what does this teach him about hitting? My kids had to clean the toilet if they used toilet language but if they hit then they had to repair the relationship. Sorry can't see the logic in this consequence

I hope like hell most of the people commenting on here don't actually have young children! Cleaning a toilet is NOT an appropriate punishment for a 5 year old, particularly administered by a childcare centre. Not only are there dangerous chemicals involved (as Ed points out) but the potential for infection as well. Yes the child should have been punished - but time-out or something like that is far more appropriate at a childcare centre.

& who was supervising the kids???? Yes accidents happen but surely someone would have been surpervising these kids. Taking an adult away to "punish" this child would have stretched the resources of the other adults - was the legal ratio kept? Or did they endanger the other children . . .

Reading a list of maori words translated into English ~ Mana means - Power and Authority! ~ Has the meaning changed recently to mean something else? PC BS is becoming the bane of our lives eh!

Our student flat toilet needs a good clean. It's growing some brown stuff around the inside rim. I'm going to call CYF and invite them to bring some kids over.