The professor added: "The consultation document also failed to summarise all of the most important studies, before claiming that it provided an evidentiary base for a
smacking ban...
Charlie Green: If a child is old enough to be reasoned with and talked to, there are better options than
smacking.
But campaigners hope
smacking will soon be a criminal offence.
With this report, we have sought to outline what the evidence can tell us about the impact of
smacking.
Smacking a child in Scotland is still allowed as long as it's considered a "reasonable chastisement".
The Results: The children exposed to
smacking were twice as likely to have emotional or behavioral problems as their peers who were never smacked.
'I'm not opposed to
smacking. It is to be used occasionally.
There probably aren't many of us who, as children, haven't been the recipient of a smack from our parents now and then, and more than a few will still admit to using
smacking to discipline our own children.
Legally, mild
smacking is permitted so long as it doesn't cause bruising, swelling, cuts or grazes to the child.
The spark for the latest
smacking controversy arises from comments made by former Labour education minister David Lammy in relation to last summer's riots.
Now the Royal College of Paediatrics has said
smacking should be banned because of the risk 'today's smack will become tomorrow's punch', arguing for some it's an 'easy option'.