Police hope people will see there are two sides to every story as a Christchurch man is charged with two counts of assault on a child.

It is alleged Jimmy Mason flicked his three-year-old son's ear to reprimand him for riding his bike dangerously. Witnesses reported the incident to police.

Mason will appear in court next month and Inspector Garry Knowles says he probably would have been charged even before the anti-smacking legislation was passed. He says the new legislation has not influenced the decision to lay charges.

"We've taken a pretty realistic approach to the new legislation. In each of the cases that come across my desk, we look at it based on its merits. We look at the severity of the assault, the circumstances surrounding it and then a decision is made."