Sir: Far from putting the interests of young people first (leading article, 10 June), a ban on smacking would serve merely to advance the interests of a vocal minority intent on imposing their own views on parental discipline by force of law.
It would divert already overstretched child protection resources from the children who need them most, and expose happy children from loving homes to the trauma and potential damage of police and social service interventions, although they are not at the slightest risk of harm. In short, it would not give children more protection, but less.
The anti-smacking lobby’s appeal to the principle of “equality” is deeply flawed because it fails to recognise that parents have a unique relationship with their children, bearing unique responsibilities and unique powers, and an occasional disciplinary smack is by no means incompatible with a warm family life where children are loved and cherished.
It is ludicrous to suggest that there is no difference between loving physical correction by a parent and a violent assault perpetrated by a stranger. There are many things parents do to and for their children every day that would be quite inappropriate, if not illegal, to do to another adult.
In Sweden, which banned smacking in 1979, physical child abuse cases classified as criminal assaults rose by 489 per cent in the period 1981-94. This hardly lends weight to the claim that legislating against smacking will lead to healthier inter-generational relationships.
Norman Wells
Director, Family Education Trust, Twickenham, Middlesex
Published in The Independent, 14 June 2008
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/letters/letters-environmental-disaster-846960.html