i Deputy Editor's Letter: Smack talk

There are many issues that will divide a room the instant they are introduced – fox hunting and immigration, to name but two. But few polarise opinion as much as smacking children.

Corporal punishment was banned in state-run schools in 1986 and abolished in privately funded schools only in 1998. But under current legislation parents can hit their child if it constitutes “reasonable chastisement” and does not leave a serious mark. Should it make a difference if punishment is administered by a relative?

Opponents say that it is never right to hit a child – after all, they are defenceless. Besides, would you smack an adult who stepped out of line? But many parents and older people who were themselves smacked reason that it does a child no harm as long as they know it is for the right reasons and feel loved.

Today, in an exclusive interview with i, the Children’s Commissioner for England has renewed calls for smacking to be outlawed. She joins a host of people calling for a change in the law. In 2002 the UN said that it “deeply regretted” Britain’s stance on the issue, and that it contravenes principles on the rights of the child. Indeed, some 23 countries in Europe have now banned the practice, the first being Sweden in 1979.

I do not condone any type of violence against children, but as a father I know that they can push your buttons to the very limit. Clearly there is a much deeper issue if the smacking becomes repeated and increasingly violent, but is it right to criminalise parents who momentarily slip over that line?

I guess only the children have the real answers to that one.

i@independent.co.uk

Twitter.com: @jonesrhodri