This is bound to be a contentious issue and I’d like to think we’re grown up enough to have a conversation about it without resorting to fisticuffs or vitriolic messages. So I want to put the question out there to other parents. Is it ok to spank or smack your children? If, so, what are the criteria? How is it administered and under what circumstances is it acceptable?

Just so you know, here’s my current thinking.

I was spanked a couple of times as a small child. One of the two occasions I don’t remember at all. The other I remember too well. Without sounding like some nostalgic geriatric, in my day our schools used corporal punishment, but it was used sparingly in controlled circumstances. I never got the cane or the slipper (the school options) but my father is a big man and in those days stood tall and broad. He didn’t batter us ever.

I have decided that spanking and physical discipline is not an option I will ever take with my children. It feels like I would be assaulting Monty if I ever did resort to corporal punishment. And my commitment to Monty, our forthcoming twins and myself is that I’ll never administer any corporal punishment. It means I’ll have to come up with other ways of disciplining them, but so what? That’s what goes with my stance on this.

Anyhow, I’m really interested to know what others think so please leave me any comments if you have strong views, opinions or experience you think would be useful to the debate.

And I don’t even know what the law says about it so if you know that or know where I can find that out, again please let me know.

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