Consultation on the Children (Abolition of Defence of Reasonable Punishment) (Wales) Bill
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Tystiolaeth i’r Pwyllgor Plant, Pobl Ifanc ac Addysg ar gyfer craffu Cyfnod 1 Bil Plant (Diddymu Amddiffyniad Cosb Resymol) (Cymru) |
Evidence submitted to the Children, Young People and Education Committee for Stage 1 scrutiny of the Children (Abolition of Defence of Reasonable Punishment) (Wales) Bill |
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CADRP-637 |
CADRP-637 |
About you
Individual
— No
(we would be grateful if you could keep your answer to around 1000 words)
In my opinion the Defence of Reasonable Punishment should be available to parents. A child is entrusted to its parents to care for him/her from birth; the parent (and not the state) is responsible for the moral, physical and educational development of that child. Most parents do this lovingly and with their childrens' absolute best interests at heart. In order to raise the child the parent must be allowed the freedom to decide how best to handle each individual. Some children respond quickly to a disapproving look, a heart-to-heart discussion or a warning given by their loving parent and stop the offensive behaviour immediately but others are harder to teach. They will push their parents sometimes to get them to enforce a boundary that the parent has laid down. For them it is not enough to warn etc. they need the parent to have the strength of their convictions and follow up with the deserved punishment. Removal of privileges for such a child does not work. Although positive parenting is good and for most children will be successful, for these children there are times when using strategies simply does not help. A bright child knows when a parent is trying to bribe him/her to be good. A quick smack administered with respect to the child's person is sometimes the best way to re-inforce the boundaries or to protect them from harm. The state cannot possibly know each individual child (what are its strengths and weaknesses or its individual gifts/abilities), a loving parent has got to know the child from birth (and even before birth) and has formed a loving bond where there is trust between them. The child trusts the parent to lead and guide him/her through a demanding world and to teach them right and wrong, so that they are able to thrive in the world when the time comes to leave the safety of the home. A home where there are boundaries and punishments for disobedience is a safe home. Obviously, there are some parents who do not care for their children, who abuse them, and the laws of our land are already there to deal with such, but need to be properly enforced.
(we would be grateful if you could keep your answer to around 1000 words)
No; the existing law needs to be better enforced. Parents should not be criminalised for doing what they believe to be the best for their children by administering a smack when necessary.
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Parents are likely to be criminalised and children disadvantaged.
Children in some cases will be irrevocably harmed by having their parents investigated or removed from them; loving parents who are seeking their absolute good.
(we would be grateful if you could keep your answer to around 1000 words)
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(we would be grateful if you could keep your answer to around 1000 words)
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