By Tony O'Riley-
British parents need more help when it comes to smacking children, because the law does not forbid it entirely.
Many children int the Uk are completely out of control because parents are not empowered to smack their children because of the vagueness of the law in this area.
Smacking one’s child is not necessary for every parent, but some children need to be smacked for sense to properly arrive in their head. Section 58 of the Children’s Act, 2004, permits a parent or carer to smack a child where it amounts to “reasonable punishment”.
What constitutes “reasonable punishment” is a value judgement, making it too grey an area for many parents. As a result many parents believe they can’t smack their child, in the process emboldening children to run riots round their parents, and becoming out of control. This law is problematic, and rather than setting a benchmark of ”reasonable punishment”, the object of examination should be the smacking. Parents should be allowed discretion when to smack their children, though the law should set an age limit to this right with parents.
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Children in the Uk and other countries where children are overprotected, results in too many kids behaving as they please. Smacking a child in a way which causes wounding, actual bodily harm, grievous bodily harm should be the only level of smacking that should be punishable by law. The guideline of reasonable punishment is leaves the judgement with the law who are not in the position to determine when smacking can be deemed reasonable. There is no way to confirm the good judgement of a parent, except to investigate each case where a complaint could arise, which means listening to the possible foolish account of a child.
Children these days are so emboldened with the knowledge that they can’t be smacked, such that many young children in Britain even hit their parents back. This is one of the reasons many children can be a nightmare at school and defy the rebuke of their parents. A good idea would be for parents to be able to report children who smack their parents back to the police, with powers given to the police who wear body cameras these days to give children who violate their parents a reasonable belting in the presence of the complaining parent. A belting that is ‘reasonable’, until it becomes enough of a deterrent that it is no longer necessary.
This idea sounds so archaic, the stomach of many readers would probably turn at the sound of the idea. Many children these days are so out of control that is worth considering empowering parents who choose to discipline their children through smacking to do so, with the law providing full support to such parents. Speaking to parents who put up with verbally abusive and sometimes violent children is a painful experience for those who only want the best for their children. Children who are left unchecked often disappear from home when they want, skip school, and talk to their parents like they are talking to their mates.
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Most children like that generally do badly in school, become drop outs, and many times turn out to be criminals.
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Note: The parents and children photographed are not in any way undergoing a family situation relating to this article
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