I read this article online that the government will not bring in a law against the smacking of children by their parents. The issue of smacking in the UK rouses passions from those who would either support or oppose such legislation.
Lets’ face it- most of us have been smacked as a child. Smacking, mainly a slap by the hand on the bottom, used reasonably, will hope to stop a child getting up to mischief. However, some people, such as Richard Smith in the Guardian today, claim that smacking leads to violence and accuses the government of lacking leadership on this issue.
With all the more important things the government should be doing, the decision is welcome. I believe there should be intervention where a child is clearly in danger of genuine violence or physical abuse, but smacking is a different matter altogether, and should be a personal matter between the parent and the child.