Oh I got smacked as a kid,slap on the legs  and the bum.My mum did most of that.Not that much actually,however the one thing that stuck in my mind was my dad,he never smacked us(me and my brother) until one day on holiday I was playing in the rocks /beach and never heard them shouting  for  me.They were nearly calling the police etc.I came back to the house with me bucket of crabs and beasties etc,then that was it.My dad  whacked me on the bum.I never forgot it,I'm 55 now,and I was so distraught that my dad whacked me arse. So there ya go!

I think it was  fear etc ..on his part,I loved my daddy.

Katty, I don't ever remember my dad smacking me, maybe he did I don't know. I know I could get away with a lot more with my dad than I could with my mam. All I know is that I had parents who instilled into me right and wrong, and if that took a smack then so be it 

Oh aye sprout.A smack from my dad was serious stuff,indeed! It was rare..

See, that's the thing I've never really been able to 'get' about the smacking argument Soozy. ^^^That's true of many adults too, but we all pretty much accept that, under those circumstances, it's never okay to 'smack' another adult.

Ooops sorry  And yes, sadly, a v v long way to go http://www.unicef.org/crc/files/Rights_overview.pdf

Sorry but anyone who raises a hand to a small child  is an abuser.

Number 2 for me... Ban all smacking as it's plain violence and there's no excuse for it.  IN MY OPINION.  Everybody is entitled to an opinion for whatever reason, and nothing anyone says will make me change my mind, so I am not sure that there is any point in getting into a debate about it...

 

Can't help wondering though, why it's seemingly OK to smack a child (according to some,) for being 'naughty,' or whatever, but it's not OK to smack an adult, and it really isn't is it?  Where do you think you would stand if you hit someone for ANY reason, because you were mad with them?!  I can tell you if someone smacked me for being naughty or doing 'wrong,' I would press charges against them for assault, and so would most other people I would imagine... and I would think that  if i DID press charges, that I would have a case....  Upshot is; nobody would tolerate being hit would they?  No matter what they had supposedly done...

 

So i can't fathom why people seem to think it's OK to whack their own child, when it's NOT acceptabel to hit another adult...  I mean, would these same people accept being slapped/whacked/smacked by their boss for example if they were caught having a crafty fag outside when it wasnt allowed?  or if they slapped them for talking back?  of course they wouldnt, so I am curious to know why people think it's OK to smack a child.

 

So why is it OK to smack a small person no higher than your waist, who clearly couldnt fight back, who depends on your for love and guidance and support, and who is still learning about life and its boundaries.  There is no excuse to smack EVER.  There are other ways to discipline. 

 

TBH - i really don't think there should be laws in place to stop parents disciplining their children the way that they choose to (beatings aside obviously). 

 

sooz

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I tend to disagree, I know we have laws piled on laws and can do with less, but  whenever I've witness a child being  smacked or hit, it's usually the adult that is out of control, once in a shop  i saw a harassed mum with 3  small children , she was doing the

' wayne dont do that or i'll  whack you one '(through gritted teeth)

and then went on ignoring the child and what he was doing,  and carried on her convo with the  till  girl,  when the convo was over  she grabbed wayne  by the arm and sorta of suspended him off the ground and then used her other hand to flail at him, whilst screaming in his ear.I  coughed ,politely , and  suggested  she really shouldn't be  doing that,  to which she replied

' yeah well 'e aint yours  so f...  off you twat'

 

we moved shortly afterwards....

I think that's the sad truth that makes the law worthless... unless they do it in public and are caught, arrested, charged and tried - realistically, is that going to happen?

 

I think the law as it stands is pretty reasonable - if it were enforceable (I have no kids so probably no right an opinion)   i do think it depends on the child and the parent - my mate has three kids and when they were small they were all disciplined differently.   One got a smack on the hand and it worked, the second has special needs (still undiagnosed as to what the problem was and he's an adult now) and he could fly into uncontrollable rages - she quickly realised that reasoning didn't  work and she could have beat seven bells out of him to no avail (she didn't btw)  so he had a time out system, she literally had to leave him alone in his room until he calmed down and her daughter was such a mummy's girl all she had to do was let her know that she wasn't Mummy's favourite person if she did x, y, z and she she was distraught and did as she was told (i'm not sure that the last one wasn't a form abuse )   Anyway.. all three have grown into lovely young adults and managed not run under a bus or electrocute themselves in the toaster.   I don't think you can legislate really.

 

 

Never have and never will 

Think that's maybe taking it a bit too far Katty.......I am v strongly anti smacking, but, it used to be more or less the 'norm' and to now call people 'abusers' for it, will, imo just further alienate them and provoke extreme alternative views.....We need to provide alternatives,  'Supernanny' for e.g. does so, (although tbh I can't bloody stand the woman, but that's another story!!!)  and there are now universal parenting courses available, which has to be a step in the right direction.

Neither  has Jo Frost

But it's normally the people without kids who are the experts. I was lucky enough to work with a large group of people. Three of 'em were middle age guys, whom whilst not having being lucky enough to meet an appropriate woman to settle down with were absolutely full of great advice. Occasionally at 'lowance time they would remove their noses from the Daily Mail and put us right. An absolute reservoir of guidance on matters ranging from discipline and diet to education and environment, they kept the rest of us on the straight and narrow in parenting matters.

Ah well, tbf, Daily Mail readers are the oracle on everything...true fax

Ha ha ha you minx

I like you - chase meeeeeeeeee

Tbf, they may not hold the same political views as you, but they are literate and have made a conscious choice to read whatever newspaper they like, and hold political, ethical and economic views that are equally as valid as yours or mine. 

In point of fact they were thick as shit and tended to read the Express/Mail because they thought such reading material, and an almost fanatical devotion to La Thatcher made them somehow superior. 

Thick as shit, eh? And they felt superior?  

We used to humour them.

Aww, how noble of you! 

Indeed! None of us wanted any trouble.