Laws must be changed to ensure smacking a child is not seen as acceptable in any circumstances, paediatricians have urged. which mean there is sometimes a defence to physical punishment, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health said.
“They create a grey area in which some forms of physical punishment may be lawful, and some are not.” He said he was “regularly faced with situations where it is alleged that physical punishment has been used against a child” but that the “vague nature of the laws make it extremely challenging” to talk to families about what the rules are and therefore more difficult to talk about the best interests of their children.
Prof Rowland said: “There must be no grey areas when it comes to safeguarding children. Changing the laws in England and Northern Ireland will give us absolute clarity and ensure there are no instances where it is acceptable or lawful to smack a child.” She added: “As this timely report from child health experts at RCPCH shows, hitting a child can have harmful and lasting consequences. We know from Childline that physical punishment can impact a child’s mental and emotional health and damage the relationship between parent and child.
He added: “The current law strongly prohibits all violence against children, while protecting parents from prosecution for innocent and harmless parenting decisions. The reasonable chastisement defence is, by definition, limited to actions the court deems reasonable.”
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Source: i newspaper - 🏆 8. / 89 Read more »