John V Lloyd: Nothing wrong with a smack to keep kids safe

A smack must be the ultimate deterrent, says John V Lloyd

Most Scottish parents are against such a law and the Scottish Government was quick to point out that they have no plans to bring in such legislation, while stressing its concern about the welfare and safety of children.

I remember well a spanked bottom I got at age eight. My dad was driving along a Maltese coastal road which locals appeared to regard as a Formula One race track.

I clasped my hands around my dad’s eyes. As my mum and brother wrestled me off, my dad regained control, stopped the car and tanned my bottom. I didn’t do it again.

Like so many punishments in childhood, the aim was safety. Should you not smack a child who has ignored repeated warnings not to go near the chip pan, the fireplace, or main road?

For some reason, Mr Finnie is unconcerned about criminalising responsible parents. He and others point out that Sweden does not have smacking – it became the first country in the world to outlaw it, in 1979. As a result, some parents there have ended up with criminal records.

Not everyone in Sweden feels it has been positive. Psychiatrist Dr David Eberhard, a father of six, sparked controversy in 2013 when he argued in his book How the Children Took Power that so-called permissive parenting handed children too much control.

Too much leniency had raised a nation of ill-mannered young people, he argued. He pointed to Sweden’s growing truancy rates, rising cases of young people with anxiety disorders, and a slump in international educational league tables, as being down to the nation’s liberal approach. A return to more “authoritarian” parenting was needed, he claimed.

It is interesting that Scotland lags educationally behind south-east Asia which has corporal punishment in school and in the home.

No doubt there will be the usual response from those who warn of confusing smacking and assault. Yet Section 51 of the Criminal Justice Act (Scotland) 2003 is very clear that “one cannot use an implement (belt or cane), nor shake a child nor strike their head”.

We hear of feral teenagers who drink and take drugs, fight, vandalise property, intimidate younger kids, carry weapons, have underage sex. They do not respect others or the police and regard the Children’s Panel as a paper tiger.

When most parents discipline their child, they are encouraging them in a code of conduct. You want them to keep safe, learn right from wrong, have good social skills, be respectful and move towards self-discipline.

Corporal punishment must be the ultimate deterrent, rarely used and certainly not in a temper. The child will grow up in warmth and love and know parameters.

The Children’s and Young Persons (Scotland) Act 1937 made cruelty and neglect of a child a criminal offence.

Parents know that.The law does not need to be changed.

John V Lloyd is an author. He lives in Inverkeithing, Fife.