Smacking kids 'should be banned', says children's tsar

[-:Undertaker:-]

http://www.itv.com/news/story/2013-1...ggie-atkinson/

Smacking kids 'should be banned', says children's tsar

Parents should be banned from smacking children, according to the Children's Commissioner for England. Maggie Atkinson told The Independent it was her view that the law gives pets and adults more rights to be protected from violence than children.

That's strange, I don't recall having written on my birth certificate my mothers name, my fathers name and Maggie Atkinson - do you? Here's another unaccountable nobody, part of an establishment that's got everything wrong in the post-war period, wanting to tell parents how to bring up their own children as though they were the property of the state.

Of course nobody disagrees with laws there to protect children, but this is just as ridiculous as some of the Human Rights Laws we now hear about. Is it any wonder for example how disipline in schools has completely broken down in past decades? I myself know that if I had had the threat of the cane over me when acting stupid in schools (as I sometimes did) then I would have thought twice about it. Of course physical punishment works as a deterrent, that's exactly why people fight, it's why we go to war and it's why parents smack their children.

If anybody deserves a slap it's Maggie Atkinson for her stupidity and interference.

Thoughts?

[TheShawnChg]

Like you said, a little physical punishment will definitely make the person think twice. Of course, physical punishment should only be used on the right occasion and in a controlled manner. If punishments were only in the form of words, it wouldn't leave a serious reminder to a person rather than a physical punishment. As they always say, actions speak louder than words. This is just my humble opinion about this and i'm also not saying that mental punishment won't work. Everything depends. Cheers.

[Empired]

Of course, physical punishment should only be used on the right occasion and in a controlled manner.

This.

I guess the whole thing is kinda difficult because there must be a rather fine line between physical punishment and physical abuse. It must be so easy to go too far. Plus it must be hard for law to say "yes you can hit your children but only as a punishment" because then those cases where a toddler has been beaten within and inch of its life (or whatever) would be so much harder to sort out.

Plus I'm not so sure about physical punishment at school. In a way I'm sure it would be safer because there would be so many rules as to what teachers/headteachers/whatever could and couldn't do, but I don't know if I'd be comfortable with another adult hitting my child :S Especially as some schools have such ridiculous rules these days. Like that boy who got suspended or permanently excluded or something for having a haircut like his favourite footballer.. Is that really worth getting beaten over?

I suppose I'm trying to say that I'm not against physical punishment itself, it's just where to draw the line.

[Matt]

My dad used to smack me and my brother when we were kids but he stopped when mum threatened him with a divorce if he carried on. But I think its a good punishment if your kid doesn't listen to anything else, like as a last resort I guess. Hitting kids for stupid reasons, like doing something you disagree with, is wrong and should only be done if the kid is really disobedient and is actually a devil irl.

[Aiden]

Are you sure? If say teachers were allowed to hit children now I think they would react! I don't think parents should be allowed to hit their children and that womans not done anything wrong? She's only trying to protect children. It's not like she's asking for people to not shout... she's asking for people to respect each other.

The other month I seen a woman smacking her kid on the other side of the road and that really annoyed me. You'll probably say its not my place to be annoyed but idc. Is it right for me to punch you if you annoy me? Or maybe for a boss to hit his worker for being late?

:S

[Jurv]

children don't need to be hit anyway

there are surely different and more effective ways of punishing a child

[Yawn]

smacking is pretty old fashioned and unnecessary imo

[Kardan]

I don't agree with smacking, but I can imagine trying to 'ban' it would be difficult and probably very unsuccessful.

[karter]

no one should be allowed to hit anyone? and especially children shouldn't be and if you say hitting children to discipline them is okay then good luck to you bc you have a primitive thinking goodbye

[-Moniquee.]

I'm borderline on whether it is alright to smack children.
I think it works wonders as a disciplinary action. I know when I was a kid my mum used to smack me and it would put me right back into line.
I don't think it should be the first point of discipline, taking loved items of the child works (toys, phone etc) if that doesn't work then resort to smacking.
Banning it wouldn't do much, at the end of the day people are still going to do it.