Maggie Atkinson, the Children's Commissioner for England, recently stated In an interview with The Independent, that smacking should be illegal and that it is wrong that pets currently have more rights than children. I have to agree with her.
Don't get me wrong, I understand that animals should be helped, but what about the humans? It still astounds me that more people give to animal charities than they do to people ones.
As a child, I was smacked by my mum but it was on the bottom and was more of a warning. Whereas my dad was more violent than a "short, sharp shock" kind of person - and this is why I agree that there should be guidelines put into place.
When telling off my daughter, Grace, I have always reasoned that if she is naughty it is important to always follow through on your threat. For example, back in October she was extremely rude to my partner, Ross, in front of one of her friends. We had already warned her that if she continued the way she was going then she would not be allowed to have her friends round for Halloween. She continued to be rude and so we cancelled the plans.
Of course she was upset but we believe she learnt from the situation. All too often parents tell their children "no" and make threats, but then don't follow through. Our old next door neighbour was a prime example of this. Her son was suspended from school for kicking a teacher, but instead of making him do his school work at home, he was allowed out in the garden to play! How is that punishment?!
I have always supported the school or nursery when they have put Grace in "time out" for being naughty. Upon finding out what she has done, I tell her that I'm not going to punish her as that has already been dealt with, but I would ask her if she understood why what she had done was wrong and if she knows what she should or shouldn't have done.
I remember once smacking Grace's bottom and another time smacking her on the hand. Both times I felt insanely guilty afterwards! But I am lucky, as Grace is not a really naughty child and doesn't test my patience to its absolute limit - unlike some children I know - as I can understand why a tap on the bottom or hand might help then.
But what does bother me is that there are people in this world who do not know how to control their anger and that is why I believe that smacking should be illegal.
Children test your patience to the limit and I think the biggest test of all is trying to remain calm enough to deal with them in a controlled and sensible manner. It's important to reason with children and help them understand what they are doing is wrong, rather than shouting, screaming and hitting back at them.
What do you think? Do you feel smacking should be made illegal?
I'm a forty-something Mum who has lived a varied and interesting life. Grace is my charismatic six-year-old daughter who always has something to say for herself! My partner, Ross, is a writer, Actor and singer.
Blogs at: Vevivos
Twitter: @VicWelton
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