Children’s tsar Maggie Atkinson wants smacking to be illegal

[alp227]

Parents should be banned from smacking children, the Children’s Commissioner for England has told The Independent.

Maggie Atkinson said it was her personal view that the current law gives pets and adults more rights to be protected from violence than children.

Under current legislation parents can hit a child if it constitutes “reasonable chastisement” and does not leave a serious mark.

While the four Children’s Commissioners in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland do not have a published position on the issue, Dr Atkinson used an interview with The Independent to reveal that she is in favour of a total ban – which would see parents face criminal action for corporal punishment.

“Personally, having been a teacher, and never having had an issue where I’d need to use physical punishment, I believe we should move to ban it”, she said. “Because in law you are forbidden from striking another adult, and from physically chastising your pets, but somehow there is a loophole around the fact that you can physically chastise your child. It’s counter-evidential.”

full: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/childrens-tsar-maggie-atkinson-wants-smacking-to-be-illegal-9027588.html

Well, how could spanking be proven beyond a reasonable doubt in court, if there are no witnesses other than the parent and child?

You may remember that a legislator in California proposed this back in 2007, and that idea went down in flames quickly.

[seattledo]

1. No witnesses?

You can always ask the child.

[alp227]

2. And how can prosecutors know if the child is telling the truth?

What if children want to get revenge on a parent and make stuff up over a trivial matter like "my mommy took my toy away"?

[intaglio]

5. And there is no evidence of that idea n/t

[dipsydoodle]

3. Probably go down in flames quickly in the UK too.

.

[intaglio]

4. I suggest that you contact the Swedes

Who have made this work for some time