The Scottish government to ban smacking Children

I didn't realise this as still an issue with you guys. I thought it was just the French who were that barbaric.
 
WillowFromBuffy said:
I didn't realise this as still an issue with you guys. I thought it was just the French who were that barbaric.
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Its debatable whether it is still an issue. There does seem to more stories of kids dying from abuse than previously, but that's more extreme of course than a simple smack on the bum. Whether this law will make any difference also remains to be seen.
 
Mr Trick said:
Its debatable whether it is still an issue. There does seem to more stories of kids dying from abuse than previously, but that's more extreme of course than a simple smack on the bum. Whether this law will make any difference also remains to be seen.
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I think laws have great symbolic value, though I hope the plan would be to enforce it. It would be great to have someone to share the bad press we receive internationally with.
 
Never could understand why it was OK to hit someone so long as they're smaller than you.
 
I find myself neutral about it. Corporal punishment is still a big thing in the USA (the loud lies otherwise by people who feel they don't have enough of a green light to outright abuse children not withstanding--seriously, when that crowd make a big deal about some arrest, it invariably ends up about some child hospitalized or killed which they tried to pass off as a simple spanking, but hordes of Americans are deluded into thinking the child protective services will rush in if you so much as raise your voice to a child) with even some schools actively promoting it, and maybe that has desensitized me (that, and being exposed to enough violence growing up, including on me, that was already illegal even with allowance for corporal punishment). Back when I went to school my cousin bragged how he trolled for the paddle, like telling one teacher to make him feel it this time, and after the teacher hit him harder and asked if he felt that, he replied with a sarcastic, "Feel what?" 😀 (Thankfully the teacher didn't lose control and cause him some serious damage...and probably had grudging admiration for his spirit.)

I have many idle thoughts on the matter, such as many who use corporal punishment don't understand the difference between fear and respect (and why respect is so much more effective than fear in preventing unwanted behavior), many lack the impulse control and discretion to be trusted to use it as theoretically intended, and that while I'm not necessarily against corporal punishment I never had to use it while helping raise a boy from 7 and a girl from 11 (and no, they're not spoiled brats who bad mouth me all the time, quite the opposite).

I also wonder how many into passing this law then celebrated by using your tax dollars to have themselves whipped by their favorite mistress. 😛

I can say that corporal punishment, generally speaking, doesn't instill respect for authority, because look at all the crime in Texas that exults in such punishment...and how many are on death row which state governors can get public praise by pushing for more executions (IIRC, our once Gov. Bush made international news for publicly mocking a woman about to be executed a few years before he became President), and when someone is executed there's often a crowd outside celebrating (even back when I wasn't against state executions I thought that was sick), which goes to show capital punishment is as ineffective as corporal punishment in deterring crime and violence in society, but people will hang onto those traditions regardless. I don't know about now, but it was once one of the top most violent states that was rife with corporal punishment for kids along with harsh sentencing and capital punishment for criminals, which left me unimpressed that it prevented crime and violence (especially when compared to say Scandinavian countries which has about the opposite policy on everything with preferable results).

Hmmm...makes me wonder why I'm neutral on it. Guess I'm just too desensitized after all.
 
Good for Scotland! I've never understood why people hit their children, especially if they try to pass it off as discipline.
 
Mr Trick said:
Smacking to be banned in Scotland

Do you agree with this new law. And do you think the rest of the UK should follow suit.
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Can you share what has led up to this?

Because there is no fraggin way I believe your government (or the Scottish as it may be, or any other government) gives a damn about children (no matter how much they may cynically use children in their campaigns). They were either pushed into this by a large public movement, or there's an ulterior motive (such as pharmaceutical companies hoping that when parents try to go for a new easy way to control children they switch to the drugs).
 
I've never put much thought into smacking/spanking being a legal issue. To be honest, it's hard to imagine this would significantly change the child abuse rates, at least in the US, as anything that leaves any sort of mark is considered cruel and inhuman punishment. In looking up laws on this I was surprised how many places still allow teachers/childcare givers to smack/spank "within reason".
 
thrasherpix said:
Because there is no fraggin way I believe your government (or the Scottish as it may be, or any other government) gives a damn about children
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It wasn't a Government proposal. It was a Members Bill put forward by the Green MSP John Finnie. Sturgeon initially said the SNP wouldn't oppose it -- then she said they'd implement it. Scottish Labour are supporting the Bill. It's backed by the Law Society of Scotland, children’s charities and the Association of Scottish Police Superintendents. The UN have been putting pressure on the UK for quite a while.
Read more at: Scotland to be first part of UK to ban smacking children

Mr Trick said:
Do you agree with this new law. And do you think the rest of the UK should follow suit.
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Yes and Yes.🙂
 
TriBel said:
It wasn't a Government proposal. It was a Members Bill put forward by the Green MSP John Finnie. Sturgeon initially said the SNP wouldn't oppose it -- then she said they'd implement it. Scottish Labour are supporting the Bill. It's backed by the Law Society of Scotland, children’s charities and the Association of Scottish Police Superintendents. The UN have been putting pressure on the UK for quite a while.
Read more at: Scotland to be first part of UK to ban smacking children
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I'm now reading up to Tam Baillie, and he sounds like a true idealist who actually understands how the real world works while promoting something better. More power to him. 🙂 And this sounds like an actual change than something dodgy, and with TB and such in charge, I doubt the government could even sneak in a pay raise for themselves! Well done.

But I don't trust the UN. They frequently say one thing and do another, including where children are concerned.
 
On balance I'm against it. I understand the sentiment, but there are a few issues. First its almost impossible to enforce. Second, I don't think its the place of government to interfere with how parents bring up their children (as someone said on Question Time parents know their children better than Government), and third how would you judge what is considered to be stepping over the line. The other thing is I think hitting children is more a generation thing that doesn't happen anywhere near as much now as it did years ago.
 
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