Smacking Children??

Here in the UK, government ministers are going to review our current laws regarding smacking children. The current legislation, which has been in place since January 2005, states that "mild smacking" is allowed, but any hitting which causes visible damage to a child, such as bruising or grazing, is punishable (I should hope so!!!)

It is good news that the government is committed enough to the welfare of our children to review the law on this important issue - one of the ways they will be progressing it is via a survey for parents.

I certainly do not think that physical violence towards a child can ever be justified or condoned. There are much better ways to help a child learn positive behavior patterns, and much more appropriate ways to express loving discipline. However I do suspect that a law that bans smacking will not have an awful lot in the way of positive impact - as my step-daughter Sam commented darkly when she read the article about this in the paper, "No-one knows what goes on behind closed doors!"

Sadly, people who abuse children are already committing illegal acts - another law for them to break is unlikely to make much difference.

cyberhugs,

Cassie