Agree or not?

[cee-dee]

Smacking children should be "against the Law".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-25529744

There's a difference between a smack or two and a severe beating and I think it's high time all this politically correct, health-and-safety, nanny State stuff should be kicked in to touch, it's got out of hand.

Blanket bans on things only hinder the majority, things out of line should be dealt with as they arise.

[dark_castle1]

I disagree ! Smacking should not be against the law as the swift application of an open hand to the posterior shows the line that should not be crossed. I have seen many unruly children in supermarkets make not only the lives of parents but also other shoppers chaotic and think to myself a quick smack is what you should be getting.

[saasher2012]

I agree I've had many a slap& it didn't do me any harm, now , where's me Horse whip?

[cee-dee]

You lent it to Margie.

[tommy.irene]

One of my sons kicked his mother in front of a welfare officer and i slapped him..she was going to take me to court..I asked her her age ..she was 20 and not married.. A slap did me no harm.. even an ebay one.. I remember playing football in the street and the local policeman giving me a slap for it..I told my dad and he said he didnt hit me hard enough.

[saasher2012]

So I did, my memory is not what it was! I need a slap!!

[margaret*e]

There you are.

[bankhaunter]

I do remember that among my friends at school, a few strokes of the slipper was regarded as being a preferable punishment when compared to being put in detention but I don't think the teachers actually ever realised that.

A mother cat will, if her kittens are really being a nuisance, give them a cuff.

[tommy.irene]

In my Borstal days i was caned with 6 strokes of the cane across the bum for fighting and that was approved by the Goverment then. it did me no harm..

[millielilac]

I was 50s child so smacking was not frowned upon ......to be fair as a child I may have been smacked but it is not memorable so if I was smacked it certainly did me no harm. Teachers were allowed to but it was usually just a slap across the back of the legs or your bottom ...not hard ...and again I was not smacked by a teacher ...I always had too much respect for the teacher so would not have misbehaved.

Fast forward another 20 years or so and I was teaching myself ... and yes teachers were still allowed to smack children and the occasional smack was meted out ....but it was not the norm...

Then I left to raise a family and returned just as smacking was stopped in schools.....different times with different attitudes to childrens behaviour . It was not necessarily the stopping of smacking that made any difference as quite honestly it was a rare occurrence in any event ....in my opinion it was the whole different way that adults started to treat the children.

Children seemed to be revered by the adults ...little demi gods within the household . Due to different economic reasons quite often both parents would work and children were showered with toys and gadgets ...possibly to compensate for the lack of time that parents had to spend with the children . Quite often some of the children had a host of different carers , childminders , grandparents , before school clubs , after school clubs , teachers etc all within the space of a day ....possibly all with different rules and attitudes . A lot for some children to cope with , especially the younger children. Add to this marital/ relationship breakdown too....single parents struggling on their own....not easy.

As a teacher of very young children it did seem to be apparent that some children did not cope well with the turmoil of their daily lives and this led to behavioural problems ....I have been physically attacked and verbally abused on countless occasions by extremely young children. Smacking them back would not be the answer.....even if allowed .

There is no way back to the type of childhood that I experienced as a child ...children today are viewed and treated much differently . Most parents today do not wish to smack their children but ultimately it is the parents responsibility to ensure that their children are brought up correctly . In a loving stable home the odd light smack administered as corrective behaviour should not leave any child with lasting psychological damage but it is up to individual parents to determine what is best for their own child.

Some children may even be less damaged by a quick light slap rather than being subjected to other types of control such as deprivation of a favourite activity or being ignored etc . The physical punishment may be preferable to any emotional punishment .

Its a difficult issue but ultimately it should be the parents decision ...

[cee-dee]

You've touched on a very good point, psychological punishment. I think that does far more harm than the occasional smack.

If people think an occasional smack is bad, I think some time spent researching "To train up a child" by Michael Pearl might be an interesting excursion in to the subject of child behaviour.

[saasher2012]

I'm afraid if a teacher attempted to discipline a child with a smack nowadays , not only would they be up on a charge for assault but also in fear of the child smacking them back. Discipline should start in the family home not only that but respect for authority.

[rose2008-2008]

I was always smacked and smacked round the face by my mum and more frequently my dad. Never really harmed me i dont think,, although i do get irate when i hear kids screaming in the town and having a fit.!!!!.

[saasher2012]

I'm sorry Rose , but I would never condone that sort of discipline.

[paulwyb123]

Not under any circumstances

Change child to wife and is it still ok

[saasher2012]

Thanks Marge I see you've been practicing with it?

[**forum-decorum**]

The Bible states, "Don't spare the rod" and no that does not mean beat and beat till black and blue with a heavy iron bar or stick.

It means discipline your children, and if it is required on accasion to smack then so be it.

I agree there is a big difference between a good hard beating and a smack.

The Bible also states teach your children from infancy meaning from very young, so then the discipline would have to be appropriate to age aswell, so rightly, discipline starts at home. I really am not sure personally whether there should be the slipper and the cane at school, although it did me no harm, there are other ways that can be used in schools.

But if you think about it, if good training and teaching comes first from the home then there should be less of a need for punishments at school.

[paulwyb123]

A lot of the time it seems that it is more convenient to hit a child rather than

have to try to be a parent.

I was never hit as a child and have never hit mine and have never been in trouble

and neither have mine, I was never scared of my parents and find it really disturbing

that so many parents are trying to instill fear in their kids.

It is really down to good parenting.

[****merlin*****]

i couldnt agree more with paul

smacking a child is lazy parenting

and sends a message that striking someone for doing something i dont agree with is correct or acceptable

its an outdated method and many more methods are much more appropriate and effective

i had the option of smacking

or

teaching them a lesson

i always choose the lesson

i "hit" my child where it hurt 

as a parent of 3, each was different

son for instance?

which would be more effective?

a smack, or taking away his playstation?

i seldom had to punish mine as i parented right form the word go

i didnt make excuses of he is only a baby (as you see so many do when they are 3 and 4 years old)

hands on parenting

is what it takes to raise a child

not the threat of someone hitting them

sadly many do not grow up with proper parenting so in turn they cannot be good parents to their children

you only need to look out the window, teens having babies

what chance do these children have?

[paulwyb123]

Exactly.

'Feral kids' are made by bad parents nothing more and blaming

the school, state,religion, sweets, video games etc etc is frankly ridiculous

They are your kids so you are in control and it is the fault

of bad parents when you can't control them