Smacking children should not be made illegal

Anyone with an ounce of common sense can distinguish between a smack and the kind of physical harm that constitutes child abuse. Disciplinary smacking does not leave a mark and would never result in hospitalisation, which is how many incidences of genuine abuse come to light.

As the No point brings up, it is a very gray area between smacking and beating, so I ask: what is it that the government would do to change this since it has been brought up as a legal issue. What is the standard for child abuse? If it is to be believed that every gray area in the issue ought to be removed, then are parents forbidden to touch their children? Is an overly-enthusiastic hug that leaves the child out of breath considered child abuse? The government should remain out of the private lives of families without an intelligible belief that the child's life is in danger. In terms of whether a child's life is in danger, this can only be determined on an individual basis by a trained social worker sent to investigate the case. All in all, there is a difference between a light smack to reprimand a child for a negative action and abuse that could endanger the life of the child and the government should respect that difference. difference.

If parents are legally allowed to physically reprimand their children, where do we draw the line between an appropriate punishment and excessive force? If a parent slaps a child and they fall and incur a serious injury, is the parent still to be considered within their rights? Child abuse is a difficult enough problem to tackle without allowing these legal grey areas.