we were smacked as kids and it didn't do us any good to be honest we just made sure we didn't get caught I have not smacked my children as i have never really needed to ..my eldest is a bright child who used to find it hard to channel his energy so at times he was trying and had his possesions taken away many times until he learnt to respect then amd me ........ I think trying to understand whats wrong more rewarding than lashing out .

I don't think it should be banned.

I think parents no longer have any rights over their children really - however, that said, I also don't think smacking on a grand scale works. It shows a loss of control. And I know I was smacked a lot as a kid, and I just got angrier and angrier. I couldn't count the amount of times my parents hit me - but then, my father never really had any control anyway. My mother on the other hand hardly ever smacked me, and when she did i was so distressed by it, that I wouldbehave immediately.

I think that maybe a few times a child needs a smack, it'll jerk them into behaving, because it's a shock. If you smack a child a lot, then it's never going to learn.

xx

Hi Foxy, well as you can probably guess, I got hit a lot when I was very young, usually with the hand broom, and I remember one day I had a massive bruise on the top half of my leg afterwards, that I couldn't wait to show all my friends at school!

If I had kids, I think the wrath of Helen and my fierce yelling would be enough for them to do as they were told, so I don't think I would ever need to resort to smacking, I have never had to lay a finger on my dogs, ever, and I never would. Mind you saying that, Cassie was such a pain in the ass this morning on our bike ride on a muddy track, that to stop me slipping off the bank and ending up in very claggy grey clay puddles, I had to boot her up the jacksie once to move her on coz she kept attacking my bike she was so full of herself this morning! Lol! I only used the side of my foot and gave her a big "push", she soon moved on though!

I must say, if I did had kids that needed a good smack, they would certainly get a slight slap on the legs from me and I wouldn't care who told me that it was illegal! Good job I don't have them then!

I've no kids but I did get a 'skite' aff ma maw (Scots for getting a slap off your Mum!!) a few times as a youngster - didn't do me any harm (I don't think ).
I am totally on the fence with this one, I don't have kids but I don't imagine I would ever hit any kid I had. I hate it when you see Mums who have totally lost control and they whack them (in the supermarket or that); it does make me feel a bit uncomfortable. BUT, on the other hand, you get these people who frown and draw looks at kids who are crying. I mean - kids cry, especially wee ones, and you can't force them to stop just becasue they are annoying folk! I feel sorry for the Mums in that position. It's a toughie isn't it?

I think that if I ever have children and had exhuasted all other means of punishment, I might smack. But then I dont have them so if it ever happens I wont know until that moment.

Although I do sometimes see the odd brat in the shops who I think either needs a good telling off or something short and sharp to get them in line again. One child who was about 4 decided he didnt want something in his mothers trolley so started emptying it out on the floor, and smashing things in the aisle. In that situation if it had been mine I probably would have smacked !

I was smacked/slapped HARD on several occassions by my father, he had a nasty temper and used to lash out. It made me have little respect for him.
My mother on the other hand only smacked me about 4 or 5 times all when I was under the age of 8. I remember once her making dinner and I was teasing my sister, she must have been about 2 and I was 5, I was giving her things then taking them away, or something like that, but I was being a little brat, so Mum took the wooden spoon, slapped the flat surface and threatened me with that (I was never smacked with it though) and gave me a warning, I ignored her and she slapped it again, which upon it broke and I sang out 'Ha Ha you got nothing to smack me with !!' Wrong.

She smacked me on the back of my legs with her hand. I learned never to be cheeky to my mother again !

I think if it was done all the time then it would have no effect on the child but if it was done as a last resort and not very often then it would taken note of by the child.

Anyway thats my thoughts

Ive never had reason to smack my son yes i tell him of when hes done something he shouldnt of done but rather than smack him i sit him down and explain why he was told of it seems to work for me

This is very clear for me...A child having a tantrum, no it'll just make them worse, ignoring them is a better way to go, I know this!...I had lots of tantrums as a kid and the quickest way to stop me was to completely ignore me, I would get bored and stop. Give me any attention at all even negative and it would just carry on and get worse!

Say if a child knocked something over by accident of whatever...Definitely no smacking...

etc etc...

If a kid say walked down the street and hit an old lady or something, kicked a puppy...you get the idea, etc etc...Then beat it!! (the kid, not the old lady in the example)

Some parents use smacking as a quick fix, that is not the way to go at all.

On the other hand some kids are just plain little ******** and if the deed they done was totally awful I would smack em one even if they wernt my own.

Sorry folks!

I think it is sad that the government have to step in and tell parents how to bring up their children and I'm not sure if that is a reflection on parents or the government trying to force it's 'nanny state' policies in all area's.

I wouldn't say parents have gotten any worse or better now a days...I know my mum was treated terrible by her father to the extent she wasn't even sad when he passed away and I know parents now a days can be awful to...

What I would say about parents and kids of today is that alot of kids are spoilt something rotten now a days to the point where it is completely over the top and they sometimes don't know the value of things in life.

I don't need to smack my kids, when I raise my voice or talk in my authoritative tone, they know thats the end of the line and if they persist they get sent to their room and if they still persist they get something taken away ie playstion or TV - that soon makes my kids wanna behave

saying that though, my 4 yr old daughter can be very testing at times and always seems to have the last word lol

I was a foster mum before adopting my two sons and it was forbidden to smack. I trained for 2 years and went on numerous courses to deal with norty , difficult, abused children etc. However there is something instilled in most parents to chastise with demonstration, I did smack one of my boys for pooing in Mrs Saterley's drain (they hadnt been with me long) and I got a bollocking off Social Services. Even after all that training it didnt make an ounce of difference to how horrified and angry I was.
We, I suppose are not unlike our dogs, bitches scold their pups if they nip too hard. Sometimes quite aggressively.
I dont think parents should have the right taken away from them although Scotland I understand already have. Anymore than a smack I would say could be child abuse however, it depends how hard the smack is, then it gets into: was it a tap, strike, thump, was the palm used, did it leave a red mark?
A difficult one this one as most of us probably were hit as youngsters and it was normal and accepted especially in my school where we had straps, paddles & canes! Did it do us any harm???? I think so.

I think it should be the right of the parent to decide whether to smack their children, not the government.
I did get the odd slap on the bum/legs when I was little. But only when I really crossed the line and my Dad always said he hated doing it!
I think there is a difference between smacking for discipline purposes and just smacking and when you're little you know this.
I once saw a woman walking across town with her child when she turned and clipped the kid over the back of the head for dropping a box of soap powder (so big it had a handle). This child looked about 4 years old and IMO shouldn't even have been carrying it in the first place. Smackng in cases like this is totally wrong.