Weekly Question

The Right or Wrong place?

We have at present in the UK, a bit of a debate brewing about smacking children. Now one store is thinking of implementing a ban on smacking in their store, and anyone caught disciplining their child for bad behavior will be removed from the store.

What next then? Chucked out for chewing gum? Chucked out for talking??? It is getting a bit silly now, and of course the only people who are going to win with this are the kids that misbehave and cause so much stress for their parents. Ergo, discipline is not going to be shown so our society suffers even more!

But what to do?

There is an advert shown in the UK, of a mum suffering from a bad cold and her son is on the want. When she says no, he throws down the thing he is holding and shouts "AAAARRRGGGHHH". So his mum, after taking the advertised remedy, looks at him, screams lies on the floor bashing her fists into it and kicking her legs, as the boy looks on in shock. She then gets up nods at the boy as if to say "Well, beat that!", the boy smiles and starts to behave lovely.

But would you do that to your kids, I mean if they show you up, would you do the same to them in return, or would you just be too embarrassed? Hard choice to make, but I am sure it would be pretty effective.

Now I am not going to condone smacking, I think that it is right to do so given the right circumstances to discipline a child. But what I object to is people telling me that I am not able to discipline my kids the way I beleive they should be disciplined.

Think about it, your kid is playing up because they can't have what they want, do you

1) Give then a sharp smack on their legs, and tell them to behave?
2) Buy it for them to shut them up?
3) Leave the store?
4) Say you may get it for them if they stop moaning and behave, for the next few days, then do so ONLY if they behave?

Well I would go with number 4, but in some exceptional circumstances it would have to be both 1 and 3. Trouble is the looks you get if you do smack your kids in public, and by smacking I mean not leaving finger marks or bruises!

Ikea has a good idea, where they provide a creche for the kids of certain ages whilst the parents go shopping. Nice idea, which is not implemented enough in other stores. In the States a lot of Malls have entertainment areas where kids are well catered for.

But it doesn't stop from answering the crucial quuestion, should smacking be banned in shops?

In all honesty I would have to say no, simply because if it is then we are been told how we should bring up our kids, and kids can use it to their advantage - don't want to go shopping so I will misbehave in the shop so mum takes me out - I can see the scenario now.

In the UK it really is turning into an Orwellian state, and big brother really is watching you, I mean they even have CCTV that has speakers so that the control can communicate to a minor offender to stop the unsociable behaviour!

So to smack or not to smack?
It has to be down to the individual concerned, not anybody else.