Education Minister says it's Ok to smack your child: do you agree or not?
HelenMFM
admin
Hello
Nicky Morgan, the Secretary of State for Education, has said she thinks it's OK to smack a child, as long as it's “just a tap on the hand or a mild smack on the bottom".
She was taking part in a debate on Sky News with an 11-year-old boy from the children's paper First News.
He asked if she thought it was shameful that smacking thought it was shameful that Britain is one of only a handful of European countries where it is legal for children to be hit.
"Don't you think violence against children should be banned altogether?" he said.
The Education Secretary replied: "I don't want to criminalise parents if that's the decision they take to discipline their child. There's what we have called reasonable chastisement."
Do you agree with her? Do you think it's OK to smack your child (as long as you're not hitting them hard)? Or do you think it's never right to smack a child?
Please do post her and let us know!
Replies
Well this is is toughie. By no means is it cut and dry, and such a grey area. I think smacking kids is kind of teaching them to hurt others when there's a problem. But sometimes a smack on the bottom might be called for. I don't think we want to be policed how to raise our kids, but then again, we don't want kids being beaten too!
Agree with pp. I was smacked as a kid n it never did me any harm. But I'll only give my dd a little smack if she's REALLY naughty. I find the removal of privileges and treats or being sent to bed works just as well.
I believe a smack or 2 given with love can be a good thing as long as only as a last resourse when other things have failed