UK only- smacking children?

Question

What do UK people think about disciplining children using physical punishment? I asked a question last night about this, but seeing as it was about 5am GMT, I think the answerers were all American. They seem to have a completely different viewpoint than the UK.

Answer 1

There is a difference between smacking and physical abuse.

I got smacked as a kid and it did not do me any harm. Looking around and seeing all these drunken jobs and p1$$heads I strongly believe they should have been smacked more.

Answer 2

most of the people i know get hit or smacked by their parents. i do. it's kinda normal =/

still bad, though. only a handful of people i know dont get hit.

Answer 3

Some children respond to being put in time out or having privileges taken away, and others don't.

If a child is throwing a fit and will not repsond to talk or anything else, a good smack sometimes helps.  Of course Smack in the USA means beating them, they say spank...

When my son was naughty I used to spank him on the thigh.  It stings, and leaves a red mark, and 1 or 2 usually would stop him from being naughty.  If he answered back and kept on, I would wet my hand and give him a 3rd, and that always did the trick.  When I say always, I probably only had to do that less than 5 times in his life.   Because he hated the wet hand so much, when he started to play up after, I just had to make out I was going to l**k my hand and that was enough for him to stop.

I'm definitely against brutally whipping or caning children, but a slap that leaves a sting on the thigh can often be very effective when talking fails.

Answer 4

There is a growing trend at the moment to believe that smacking is wrong.  There are many who disagree however, and blame the lack of physical punishment for the general lowering of standards of behaviour amongst the young, especially in run down areas.  It is not really a big issue.

Answer 5

Only in really extreme circumstances, and even then, it should just be a slap on the hand or the bottom, and absolutely nowhere else.

I persoanlly think to be free and easy in slapping/smacking children, makes them think that it is ok to hit, which it certainly isn't.