francene--blog. Year 2013
  • Home
  • Blog

February 3rd

2/3/2013

 
On this morning's news, a British Government official raised the question about child punishment. The Justice Secretary defended child smacking, saying that he smacked his now grown children when they were young and considered the smack necessary to teach a lesson.

Child smacking and the law http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21311916
  • UK parents have not been explicitly prohibited from smacking their children.
  • The 2004 Children's Act removed the defence of "reasonable chastisement" for any punishment towards a child that leads to bruising, swelling, cuts, grazes or scratches.
  • Any adult found guilty of breaking the law may face up to five years in jail.
  • Physical punishment is prohibited in all maintained and full-time independent schools, in children's homes, in local authority foster homes and Early Years provision.
However, the law seems to have been taken to the extreme. If a parent raises their hand to a child in a public place like a supermarket, they're likely to be regarded with disapproval, angry stares, even comments from others.

Picture
morguefile
If we look to the animal kingdom, we can see a lion or tiger batting their offspring when annoyed. A smack is a way of capturing the youngster's attention. Of course, a parent shouldn't injure their child. If they didn't care about them, why would they bother to teach them not to behave badly?

I admit to smacking my children in the seventies after they disobeyed a rule. When I think back, I wonder why. And yet, they behaved well on the whole and we had a loving, happy relationship. They knew, by the time they reached their double figures, what they could and couldn't get away with. I believe in discipline to this day. Self-discipline that is. I'm not sure if smacking a child teaches that attribute, but at least children were a pleasure to be around and didn't become delinquent. Now days, the lack of discipline in the home is blamed for poor standards and attendance at schools.

What do you think about smacking?


Suzanne Shumaker link
2/3/2013 04:25:10 pm

My mom was a spanker/smacker/slapper/et.al. and it was terrifying. I cannot bring myself to do that to my kids (ages 6 and 10) because I still remember the fear and terror I felt as a child. My kids get extra chores and time outs for disobeying. They BEG to be spanked "like everyone else" because that is a quick punishment. But I think hitting sends the wrong message and is lazy parenting. Also, when my kids disobey and have to do extra chores - I get a cleaner house and my conscience is clear :)

Susie link
2/4/2013 04:33:08 am

I do believe this can be taken to the extremes however I do believe in discipline. Seriously who wants to raise a child that no one can stand to be around?


Comments are closed.

    Author

    Francene Stanley, author of many published novels. If you like my writing, why not consider purchasing one of my books? You'll see them on the sidebar below.
    Born in Australia, I moved to Britain half way through my long life.

    Picture

    Archives

    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    Catastrophe
    Creativity
    Family
    Life Experiences
    Mother
    News
    Novel Writing
    Novel-writing
    Retirement
    World

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.