Should it remain legal to smack your children in Engand?

[Saphire]

Well the protection would have to be real, and not just token gestures from the local authority social services.

Do you think making all smacking of children in England, to bring it in line with Scotland and Wales, would make any difference?

 

[paolinho]

Do you think making all smacking of children in England, to bring it in line with Scotland and Wales, would make any difference?

Not sure how it could be enforced should a parent manipulatively or discreetly be a child abuser. Therefore, the answer to your question would have to be no.

 

[Saphire]

Not sure how it could be enforced should a parent manipulatively or discreetly be a child abuser. Therefore, the answer to your question would have to be no.

I think you are right.
It may make a parent who doesn't habitually slap their child think twice, but I doubt the kind of parents that do abuse their kids, including slapping or hitting, would stop.

 

[BronzeSquirrel]

I'll never forget the terrible story of that couple who broke down on the motorway. They had a four year old with them and had to leave the car. The kid started playing up, refusing to take his mother's hand and throwing himself around with a tantrum. Parents said they tried to reason with him but he wriggled away from his mother and onto the motorway and got wiped out by several cars. Now, in that situation, what do you do? I would have smacked his legs and put the fear of God into him. And it would probably have saved his life.

 

[BronzeSquirrel]

You can bring out as many laws about not smacking kids as you like but it won't stop the real abusers. All it really does is hobble the parents who rarely smack their kids but who might need to as a means of control in a desperate situation like the one above.

 

[Moriarty]

When a parent resorts to smacking a child there is something lacking in them.
They possibly need to get rid of the problems/frustrations that are afflicting them.


Violence gets you nowhere.

Get your ducks in a row

Nope.

Controlled violence is how one sustains a dominant position in a hierarchy.

Ask any government.
Ask any dog owner.
Ask any parent.

What people need to realise is that they are creating kids they dont like much.
Because they are stroppy, self opinionated, self righteous brats who think they know better.

Give em a slap or 2 when they are younger if they deserve it, they learn respect or resentment if it's done to often.

Old school I know, but really..
The only way to confront abhorant behaviour is to change the persons comfort zone.
Some controlled pain, either physical or mental does that.

Smacking a kid is no different than sending it to its room with no stimulas for a couple of hours.
It's just over quicker when its physical.

Always remember my dad telling me he would have to give me a slapping because I disrespected my neighbours who were Polish and didnt speak much English.

Made me think about respect.

 

[Saphire]

Nope.

Controlled violence is how one sustains a dominant position in a hierarchy.

Ask any government.
Ask any dog owner.
Ask any parent.

What people need to realise is that they are creating kids they dont like much.
Because they are stroppy, self opinionated, self righteous brats who think they know better.

Give em a slap or 2 when they are younger if they deserve it, they learn respect or resentment if it's done to often.

Old school I know, but really..
The only way to confront abhorant behaviour is to change the persons comfort zone.
Some controlled pain, either physical or mental does that.

Smacking a kid is no different than sending it to its room with no stimulas for a couple of hours.
It's just over quicker when its physical.

Always remember my dad telling me he would have to give me a slapping because I disrespected my neighbours who were Polish and didnt speak much English.

Made me think about respect.

So by that analogy, you teach kids to think inflicting pain on another person gains their obedience and respect?

 

[Moriarty]

So by that analogy, you teach kids to think inflicting pain on another person gains their obedience and respect?

You teach them there are consequences to thier actions.
Inflicting pain works, be that physical or mental pain.

However you think about it, mental and physical pain are the same.
They are both capable of inflicting short and long term damage.

Isolating a kid, grounding them for a week, cutting off thier access to xbox or thier phone.

All these things have a knock on effect when done to excess.

Socially isolate a young girl from her social media for a week, how much of a cost does that have with her peers, perhaps her confidence?

(Assuming you allow her on social media, it was just an example)

Any punishment inflicts pain, a slap is over in seconds, being grounded or having privilages denied can last for days.

Short term pain leads to short term resentment.
Long term pain, thats a bigger problem.