Scotland. Banning smacking in the home.

Sure Start has been brilliant but after that there only seems to be Social Services and they have a poor reputation. A child advise and support service an idea perhaps?

Wasn't that part of what Sure Start was intended for, ''a child advice and support service'?

It's a lovely dream but sadly it all boils down to political choices. Our current government will do nothing; nurturing the nations' citizens isn't anywhere on its political horizon..

I thought Sure Start petered out when children start school.

To OP, no, children are not chattels, but we as parents are there to help and guide them through life. That’s the ideal. Where I live, quite nice area, the amount of indulged children I see is mind boggling. Ferried 60 yards to school, they could walk, parents constantly glued to their phones, once there, they gather in little groups, in the latest sportswear, talking to friends but eyes never far from that screen. You go in supermarkets and a child is running round, usually shouting, mother or father on the phone, maybe just indifferent, I’ve seen the children helping them selves to the odd thing, if they are caught, a shrug and we’ll pay at checkout. There is no guidance or discipline, no engagement with that child, no sense of responsibility to other people. Children learn by example, from what I see from a lot of parents is neither, children almost like an accessory to their lifestyle. Smacking a child is pointless. Giving them a tap like Diana, keeping them in line, to children that are very much lived and cared for won’t hurt them. The other type of parent won’t mind too much either way. There should be more emphasis in all schools on parenting, it’s as if it doesn’t matter. I learnt from good parents, what do you do when you haven’t had that?

I don't see how this banning can be enforced. Please can someone enlighten me.

Cuffing, punishing is a natural instinct in the animal world, any mother animal will cuff offspring if they're misbehaving. There's good reason for this, it's not the adult bullying, but protecting their young, it's a lesson in life to be learnt. This instinct includes homo sapiens. A mother, when reunited with a child who may have, through their own misadventure, put themselves at great risk to be rescued at the last minute, more often than not will instinctively smack/cuff the child, not from malice, but from sheer relief they're still alive - it's a natural instinct, the cuddling will follow. So, this is now being seen as punishable cruelty to the child?

This is great news. Anyone who smacks children.... has been beaten by a mind smaller than their own.... I know a 7 year old who is more articulate and intelligent than both her parents.

My rabbit eats his own faeces bohemian, if it's ok with you I wont use the animal kingdom as a model for behaviour. Quite a lot of animals eat their own young, again not sure whether this should be implemented by our species.

Sure Start centres worked very closely with Children and Family Services. Many Sure Start centres had been l.a. family centres or nurseries that were improved when he NewPin or Sure Start model began to be developed across the country.
The Blair government was instrumental in this. Every Child Matters was a significant document that aimed and achieved improving the lives of children and their parents.

Then along came Cameron who announced he'd be closing Sure Start Centres because they weren't reaching the deprived / need families because what he referred to as middle class families like his own were dominating. That may have been the case in leafy areas like the one he lived in, it definitely wasn't the case in the poor, deprived areas I worked in.

My spaniel cuffed her puppies but then they were placed with humans. I wouldn't have placed them with families who continued the methods their mum had used. They were brought up with positive training methods, no cuffing or smacking needed. Positive reinforcement works better with dogs than physical punishment which is more likely to undermine the bond between human and dog, as well as lead to a less confident, responsive animal. Not much different than caring for children in those early, developmental years.

I welcome it being made illegal - and about time too. Of course, it won't stop the worst offenders, behind doors - who have no regard for the law anyway.

I'm wondering how this will be enforced too boheminan and what measures will be in place to deal with false accusations.