Should UK also Ban Smacking?

[Sanjeev Nanda]

Smacking children is to be banned in Scotland, the Scottish government has confirmed.
The move would make the country the first part of the UK to outlaw the physical punishment of children.
Ministers had previously said they did not support parents using physical chastisement, but had "no plans" to bring forward legislation of their own.
But the government has now confirmed it will ensure a bill lodged by Green MSP John Finnie will become law.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-41678797

[Champ]

Scotland is still in the UK the last time I checked

[magicrat]

I actually think smacking kids as a rarely used shock tactic is fair enough in extreme cases of misbehaviour , Back of the legs stuff not anything that could cause lasting discomfort, I guess most of us had parents that smacked us on rare occasions when we went too far.  Problem is the idiots that have zero parenting skills and belting their kids is the first not last resort.  Whether the state stepping in to ban all forms of corporal punishment is desirable I'm not so sure, Responsible parents will take note but I can't see short tempered ,or stressed out parents that often lack basic skills in handling kids or other people in general taking a blind bit of notice, I say we see how it goes in Scotland and then decide.  

[Tony Moanero]

I thought it had been banned years ago.

[Guest Pistonbroke]

I actually think smacking kids as a rarely used shock tactic is fair enough in extreme cases of misbehaviour , Back of the legs stuff not anything that could cause lasting discomfort, I guess most of us had parents that smacked us on rare occasions when we went too far.  Problem is the idiots that have zero parenting skills and belting their kids is the first not last resort.  Whether the state stepping in to ban all forms of corporal punishment is desirable I'm not so sure, Responsible parents will take note but I can't see short tempered ,or stressed out parents that often lack basic skills in handling kids or other people in general taking a blind bit of notice, I say we see how it goes in Scotland and then decide.  

 

It will be nigh on impossible to police fairly unless the smacking is done in public. Imagine little Tam having his games console taken off him as punishment for doing something wrong. He then pops off down to child welfare and complains about his dad smacking him, producing a bruise on his arm that some mate or other kid at school had caused a day earlier. Or on the other side of the coin. Little Tam gets an OTT slap from his dad, child welfare get involved but Tam's mother sticks up for her husband and lies for him to say nothing happened. 

 

Children need protecting, but they also need to be brought up to know right from wrong, the odd slap on the legs, if deserved never did the majority of kids any harm. As you say mate, it is those parents who have fuck all parenting skills that need looking at, normally you would think they would be on the radar, well they should be if people did their jobs properly or family and friends weren't to frightened of getting involved. 

[magicrat]

It will be nigh on impossible to police fairly unless the smacking is done in public. Imagine little Tam having his games console taken off him as punishment for doing something wrong. He then pops off down to child welfare and complains about his dad smacking him, producing a bruise on his arm that some mate or other kid at school had caused a day earlier. Or on the other side of the coin. Little Tam gets an OTT slap from his dad, child welfare get involved but Tam's mother sticks up for her husband and lies for him to say nothing happened. 

 

Children need protecting, but they also need to be brought up to know right from wrong, the odd slap on the legs, if deserved never did the majority of kids any harm. As you say mate, it is those parents who have fuck all parenting skills that need looking at, normally you would think they would be on the radar, well they should be if people did their jobs properly or family and friends weren't to frightened of getting involved. 

 

This little Tam fella sounds a right little cunt and in need of a damn good thrashing.

[Elite]

I am all for banning smacking kids providing I can punch them instead.

[Guest Pistonbroke]

This little Tam fella sounds a right little cunt and in need of a damn good thrashing.

 

34 and still lives at home, stole his dads Irn n Bru and crack. 

[Lee909]

Nothing wrong with smacking a kid so long as its not ott and not a routine thing imo.

The issue is the cunts thst still think a belt or switch is fine and those thst just beat the shit out of them.

 

We never got hit hard,it was more the shock than physical

[Mook]

I thought it had been banned years ago.

 

I though that too.

 

This is another example of some namby pamby PR exercise being forced through in Scotland while Education & Health are going to the dogs.

 

People should be able to bring up their kids in the way they want (within reason) & a boot up the arse never done anyone any harm, common sense should prevail with these things but it never does.

[VladimirIlyich]

34 and still lives at home, stole his dads Irn n Bru and crack.

Hades?

[Champ]

It will be nigh on impossible to police fairly unless the smacking is done in public. Imagine little Tam having his games console taken off him as punishment for doing something wrong. He then pops off down to child welfare and complains about his dad smacking him, producing a bruise on his arm that some mate or other kid at school had caused a day earlier. Or on the other side of the coin. Little Tam gets an OTT slap from his dad, child welfare get involved but Tam's mother sticks up for her husband and lies for him to say nothing happened. 

 

Children need protecting, but they also need to be brought up to know right from wrong, the odd slap on the legs, if deserved never did the majority of kids any harm. As you say mate, it is those parents who have fuck all parenting skills that need looking at, normally you would think they would be on the radar, well they should be if people did their jobs properly or family and friends weren't to frightened of getting involved.

 

This is what we deal with all the time anyway.

 

I didn't think I had strong feelings about it either way until I had my own kids and then it just felt totally wrong that I would 'smack'/hit my child when it would never occur to me to hit an adult who had done something I thought was wrong

[Paulie Dangerously]

LadyD and I had a discussion about smacking and agreed we would use it for extreme behaviour (ie things that would be potentially dangerous) for Toddle D. 

 

During the Terrible Twos I probably smacked a leg or a bum about 3 or 4 times before realising that it wasn't working for our child.  Principally because when started going to nursery she came home once saying a boy had hit her and I said "if someone hits you hit them back" so I'd smack her leg and then she'd hit me back. 

 

We have found that stealing bits and bobs from SuperNanny has worked well for us.  The ubiquitous naughty corner (once used on an actual boat!)  the "come here, look at me, now this is what you did and why it was naughty" and a lot of positive reinforcement of good behaviour has been the best blend for us.  

 

I don't judge parents who use smacking as I feel there's a place for it.  Obviously "I got smacked and it never did me any harm" the hard part is defining when a smack for discipline becomes abuse.  

[Paul]

Yes.

[Lee909]

 when it would never occur to me to hit an adult who had done something I thought was wrong

 

 

That thought occurs to me alot of the time.

In fact i would love to go and beat the crap out of a few people today

[Champ]

That thought occurs to me alot of the time.

In fact i would love to go and beat the crap out of a few people today

Yeah, but you won't because they might hit you back or you might be charged with assault. Bad consequences either way

[moof]

Smacking children seems a bit primative, and I’m not convinced that physical punishment actually works as a deterrent to poor behaviour in the majority of cases.

 

If banning it stops some fuckwit parents from abusing their children, I’m all for it.

[Guest Pistonbroke]

This is what we deal with all the time anyway.

 

I didn't think I had strong feelings about it either way until I had my own kids and then it just felt totally wrong that I would 'smack'/hit my child when it would never occur to me to hit an adult who had done something I thought was wrong

 

We just spoke to our children the majority of the time, they rarely did anything worthy of a smacked leg, probably only had to resort to it once or twice with each kid and it taught them that when i raised my voice they had better behave themselves. I don't get your comparison towards adults, we don't bring adults up. 

[Bjornebye]

The odd smack when the kid is being a dick is fine. Not when they are toddlers though, more when they turn into that nobhead between 8 and 14. I don't agree with parents who smack all the time or even shout all the time. In the end the shock wears off and shouting/smacking isn't a deterrent anymore. I hate seeing ratty mums screaming at their kids (normally younger than 5/6) and the kids just don't respond. You can tell the kid just doesn't have any respect at all. My dad ruled by fear when we were kids, especially when my mum left and me and our kid stayed with my dad. Looking back I understand he was going through shit but for a good couple of years when I was a teenager he used to smack me all the time. Often for fuck all. Turned him into a twat and a bully and i'd hate going home. 

 

Smacking is fine if the balance is right. If it does however deter parents from being abusive then fair do's. Time have definitely changed but the PC brigade can't keep trying to tell people how to live. 

[Fowlers God]

I smack my children. Never out of anger and only out of disciplinary needs.

 

Before I’ve ever smacked one of my children it has never been a hit and I’ve taken time out before hand to know that I am doing it for disciplinary reasons and not because I’m angry.

 

Smacking is used as a last resort where by the normal parental tactics haven’t worked.

 

Hitting/beating a child is abuse and must be stamped out.

 

I’d also like to add that what we say to our children will have as much affect on our children as hitting them. The parents who scream at their kids etc.

 

As a parent I’ll always make mistakes, just like my parents did but everything I do is for the good of my children. My children have impeccable manners and know the difference between right and wrong. They’re aware that good behaviour is rewarded and bad behaviour is punished.

[Champ]

I’m curious, FG, or anyone else, what kind of things do you smack your kids for and why do you choose that rather than any other reprimand?

[Rushies tash]

The whole argument of whether to smack or not is a sensitive and divisive issue, and I'm not surprised our shit house government is steering clear - it's difficult to voice your opinion on the matter without pissing someone off by implying that their parenting is bad. For me, the whole idea of hitting someone as a form of punishment sends out entirely the wrong message to children. "I'm bigger than you, and to show I'm right and you're wrong, I'm going to give you a whack". And then we wonder why they grow up smacking other kids to prove their points. And the whole argument of "well they're my kids" - where does that end? "I'll lock them in their room for the weekend if I want to, they're my kids..." etc. For what it's worth, we've never hit our two boys, no matter what they've done. Rather, give them reflection time and then talk about what they did. Sorry if that sounds a bit wishy washy liberal, but it's worked so far. For us. Like I said, it's hard to say one thing without implying someone else is wrong. And if there's one thing people don't like, it's insinuating that their way of bringing up their kids is wrong.

[Jenson]

I smacked my children (back of the legs) when they were younger but only in extreme cases when they'd gone out of their way to misbehave on purpose and/or scared me by putting themselves in danger when they'd been told not to.

 

However, it did and still does make me feel incredibly guilty.

[VERBAL DIARRHEA]

I considered disciplining my children physically and decided not to in the end. My son being 23 and daughter 19 made me think twice.

[dickie mint]

We never hit our kids,I don't like seeing an adult smacking a child.