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This story seems to be in the news atmMake smacking illegal, says children's tsar
Maggie Atkinson, the children's tsar, has said she wants to see changes to rules that give parents the right to hit children, and smacking be made illegal
The children’s tsar has called for smacking to be made illegal claiming current laws give pets more protection from violence than youngsters.
Maggie Atkinson wants to see changes to rules which give parents the right to hit children if it is deemed a “reasonable chastisement” and does not leave a mark.
In an interview with The Independent, the Children’s Commissioner for England revealed she is in favour of a total ban under which parents caught smacking their children would risk criminal proceedings.
She said: “Personally, having been a teacher, and never having had an issue where I’d need to use physical punishment, I believe we should move to ban it.
“Because in law you are forbidden from striking another adult, and from physically chastising your pets, but somehow there is a loophole around the fact that you can physically chastise your child. It’s counter-evidential.”
Describing it as a moral issue, Dr Atkinson added: “The morals are that, taken to its extreme, physical chastisement is actually physical abuse and I have never understood where you can draw the line between one and the other. Better that it were not permitted.”
Despite her opinions Dr Atkinson said she would not be pushing for a ban next year as she believed such a campaign would be “running up a blind alley”.
She said: “I don’t know if we’d speak out on smacking because there’s a lot of other things in the queue.
“It’s a poor use of resources. The behind-the-scenes conversations don’t stop.”
Dr Atkinson pointed out that better education on the issue, not just a change in the law, was needed help protect vulnerable youngsters.
“No public body can be behind the front door of every family in the land, as we know from tragic cases in our headlines,” she said.
“Better by far that you are taught not to need to use physical strength against a weaker human being.”
The step mother-of-two pointed out the debate around smacking “becomes emotive very quickly”.
She said she wanted to remain a “measured” voice on the issue.
The four Children’s Commissioners for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland do not take an official stance on the issue of corporal punishment but Dr Atkinson’s comments are likely trigger new discussions about what can be defined as “reasonable chastisement”.
MP David Lammy was heavily criticised after blaming the London riots on anti-smacking laws, claiming working class parents should be able to discipline their children without fear of prosecution.
The United Nations has been urging Britain to make smacking illegal for more than a decade, claiming the current law does not adhere to the principles on the rights of the child.
Phillip Noyes, head of strategy and development at the NSPCC, said: “It’s right that we continue the push to get children equal protection in law.
“It would not be intended to criminalise good parents but to put into law what more and more parents are already moving towards – finding better ways than smacking to discipline their children.”
A government spokeswoman said: “Our policy on smacking is clear. We do not condone violence towards children. However, we do not wish to criminalise parents for issuing a mild smack.
Some interesting quotes from the childrens Zsar though
Ive never even brought myself to giving my little one a mild slap
As personally i thinks its wrong...
