Smacking

Smacking is an emotive subject. Why? Because there are some who object to any view anyone else has on any topic, and on the subject of smacking, for the best effect, they relate this as being the same as beating! To the ordinary layperson, smacking is a mild form of physically rebuke. The definition of ‘beating’ in the dictionary is thrashing, This is totally different to smacking, and to suggest that smacking could be classified under the same label as beating suggests that the objectors to smacking just want to cause a problem in society until thay have totally stopped smacking without properly thinking of the consequence should they be successful. In the dictionary a ‘smack’ is defined as a blow with the flat of the hand.

There are a number of rules that should be applied to the act of safe smacking. The safest area to smack is on the rump, concentrating on the fleshy part of that area, this ensuring that no damage can come to the body but can nevertheless carry a sting. For safety, it is also important to use the flat of the hand, or an object like the sole of a slipper, these not able to cause any physical damage when applied to the previously suggested target area.

The biggest advantage of smacking is that if applied immediately upon that form of punishment being justified then it is over and done with, with the affected child not having had time to forget what they did or didn’t do that caused such a reaction. The time that such a course takes might have been only a few minutes, after which they can get on with life, but with the knowledge to try and avoid such a confrontation in the future. Psychologically, that gets the package of misbehaviour, awareness of the objection to the deed done, and the retribution all accomplished in a very short period of time.

Any other form of retribution involves a period of wait, following the objectionable deed, before the matter gets resolved, during which time the child could have forgotten what they did which produced this adverse reaction. Now what is the point of stretching the period of worry for the child, which can only adversely affect him emotionally and psychologically, and also cause him to become more tense and less able to relax and get on with his life whilst awaiting punishment, these predictably risking affecting his whole life in an adverse manner albeit at that particular time it may only seem a small period for the parent.

To look at it from a slightly different viewpoint, how will a previously happy child react to a delayed punishment, such as not going to see a film which had been previously approved and for which he had been looking forward to seeing? There can surely be little doubt that this will be in the mind of the child for the whole period from his misbehaviour to the showing of the film. The logical effect of this would be for the child to be very upset over this period of wait, this affecting his general demeanour and his general wellbeing with his previously happy character being slowly altered to a possibly more sulky and less likeable fellow. That is not a good way to go!

There should be no doubt that a parental guardian should be able to apply a form of retribution to the child who misbehaves which is instantly appreciated by the child before he has forgotten the reason for the reaction to his behaviour. He is then in a position to forget the possibly perceived humiliation, as it was of such short length, but not forget what caused the problem, to the benefit of his future life.

The child has the right to receive a form of retribution that is instantly applied, such as a smack, so that that phase of his life doesn’t drag out over a long, to him, period of time, with the possibility that he will have forgotten the reasons for the reaction when he receives it. The child has that right!

Smacking can only be a course of action that can sensibly be applied to the youngest, when the basic standards need to be ingrained into his being. When reasoning takes over a possible course of action, then that may be a sensible way forward, but that depends on the moral and mental age of the child at the time.