The author wrote: "The capacity of a child is very different to the capacity of an adult. That's why we have laws protecting children from sexual involvement and exploitation, driving vehicles, voting, drinking alcohol, the ability to enter in to certain contracts, watching violent and sexually explicit movies etc. That's why we need to train and correct children in a way that is different to how we deal with adults."

One big difference in the capacity of a child and an adult is that the adult has more capacity to hit back. If one is going to smack someone it would be wise to choose someone with less capacity to retaliate.

However, if the child grows up and becomes a parent he or she then will have the opportunity to do the same thing.

Interesting article.

A related issue is that proposals to ban smacking are part of a trend to take power away from parents in controlling their children. This has generally had negative consequences.

The issue comes to a head when children grow into teenagers. Out-of-control teenagers know that all they have to do in a dispute with their parents is to claim physical or sexual abuse and social workers will intervene on their behalf. I know of a number of cases where "abused" teenagers were assisted by social workers to leave home and go on youth allowance. The inevitable result was dropping out of school and falling prey to drugs.

Most smacks are just tokens, where the indignity on the child far exceeds any physical pain. The advantage of a smack is a more immediate connection with the transgression than is generally possible with other forms of punishment. Where a child is guilty of a grievous offence (and I emphasise "grievous") there are rare occasions where, I believe that even the traditional "damn good thrashing" (within reason) may be in order.

I support alternatives to smacking, especially as children grow older. Paramount in good parenting, however, is the need to both set boundaries and to ensure a perception that punishments applied are fair in the circumstances.

The worst of all worlds is permissive soft love, where the child is allowed to do as it likes.

the no smacking brigade are largely responsible for creating the violence on the streets. NOrmally they are self indulgent parents who want to be their kids 'best ' friends but really are to gutless to do what needs to be done to create a harmonous society. They are the ones who cry when their kids can't say no to drugs and blame everyone else except themselves. Another massive secular failure along with the destruction of the normal family that denies the adamic nature which if left unattended ends up with the violence we witness daily even against 80 year olds. Just plain dumb.

A voice of sense and reason ...

The use of a number of disciplinary methods available to schools and parents is already vetoed many years now. You would think the banning of 'barbaric' corporal punishment at schools and the message to parents about 'gentle' methods of correction (including such ratbag ideas as never saying 'No' etc) would have resulted by now in 2 generations of young adults and children on much better footings than we crusty old boomers, beaten by parents & teachers alike for our misbehaviours.

But we don't! Instead we see so much greater incidence of youth and child crime, disrespect, lack of manners and also despair and self abuse among our young. WHY?

I'm sure some half-wit will come after me to say it's all the kids who are still being smacked!

My siblings and I got 'hidings'. This involved a doubled strip of redhide around the back of the legs. We didn't like it but I can't remember ever not deserving it. Therefore it was effective discipline up to a certain age, when other punishment had more impact. Our parents were loving, caring, insisted on good manners, honesty and so on. We kids knew right from wrong as a result and had respect for authority. Most of the ppl I knew of my generation had similar experiences. There was real abuse happening at that time also but not on the scale of today.

Continued ...

My children 34,32,29 all received forms of physical punishment in their early years if words were ignored. Not to the extent I did but enough to startle them into line. They seem well adjusted despite this 'abuse' and are doing well in life. More importantly they are honest respectful civic minded people.

Daily we read, hear or observe media reports of youth crime or social dysfunction. Then the comments fly: "Where were the parents?" "Those kids should have been home in bed! What sort of parents are they?" and so on ... Probably at least 60% of these cases the kids do have deadbeat parents who don't really give a toss but in a significant proportion there are caring parents who have lost control and are given absolutely no power or assistance to regain it.

When the mother of a 13 yr old girl attempts to restrain her CHILD from leaving the home to mix with older youths, engage in underage sexual behaviour, drinking and other substance abuse and petty crime and is advised by Police that her actions are UNLAWFUL as was her attempt to physically remove her child from the street at 1am by grabbing her and bundling her in the car - you have to ask yourself, "WHAT SORT OF A SOCIETY HAVE WE ALREADY CREATED WHERE A PARENT'S AUTHORITY & ABILITY TO PROTECT THEIR CHILD IS SO ERODED?"

Yet when said childs behaviour reaches newsworthy status (but not identity because the child must be PROTECTED) people will shake their heads and say "Where were this kids parents?"

Social Engineers have done enough damage in the past 3 decades. Leave loving sensible parents alone to get on with the job of rearing their kids - not perfectly but well enough, and instead identify the ones at risk of neglecting, harming or putting their children at risk and try to alleviate it.

Just think you can train a dog without the need to smack it at any point,a human child has far more reasoning power the a dog.
Never the less some people want to retain their right to smack their childern?

I wonder how of those same poeple are keen on the idea "no rape in marriage"?