Sir, - I refer to the article by Jacky Jones in HEALTHplus (January 31st).
Ms Jones equates the words “hitting” and “smacking”, whereas there is a distinct difference. The former involves serious contact accompanied with an element of hostility, whereas “smacking” in any reasonable sense is light contact administered in love for the purpose of correction. When I clap my friend on the back I cannot been said to have hit him! If she means “abuse”, it should be clear because we all disagree with any form of abuse and the law is there to deal with it.
There is sufficient in our present law to protect children from abuse, as was stated in the Supreme Court in recent times. It should not be necessary to create conflict between the rights of children and parents.
Ms Jones also writes that smacking “destroys trust between children and parents”. I and countless others have been deservedly smacked by good parents whom we continued to love and respect and care for until their deaths. If she means that abuse destroys trust, I would agree.
Ms Jones also proposes that Irish law should favour children over adults. Why place rights in opposition!
Of course, the end result would be that the state steps in and controls even normal family life, and we know that the state is not always benign. It is not so long ago that a certain state took incapacitated children from their parents and gassed them or experimented on them. Even in Ireland, this State has been obviously in dereliction of its duty under the law as it stands.
Incidentally, the jury is still out on the long-term effect of the non-smacking regime, although the signs are not good at present if one looks at the behaviour of youths in this country and abroad. – Yours, etc,
A chara, – In seeking to defend “the purposeful smacking of a child in order to instil respect and discipline”, Adam Hobson (February 8th) makes the mistake that “a behaviourally related disciplinarian smack” is an acceptable method of helping children to learn right from wrong.
It isn’t, and no empirical evidence exists to suggest that smacking creates well-adjusted adults. – Is mise,