15 - Disciplining children 2/13/06 5:02 PM Page 42

NEWSPAPER ARTICLES TO GET TEENAGERS TALKING Moral issues

15 Disciplining children
Mary Marsh of the NSPCC (Britain’s main children’s
The sentences below are summaries of
charity) says: “It should be as wrong to hit a child as
what people say in the article. Write
an adult”. However, in a recent survey in the UK, 83%
who says these points: ‘Alice’, ‘Claire’
of parents said that children needed to be smacked
or ‘both’.
sometimes and that smacking was good for a child.
This article looks at the pros and cons of smacking. a If you’re angry, leave the room to calm down. Alice
b I would not smack a child who is ten years old.

Before you read, discuss the following. ______________________

Were you smacked as a child? If so, how did you feel? c Make your home a safe and secure environment for
Should parents be allowed to smack their children? a child. ______________________
d I worked as a nanny for parents who let their children
Glossary do too many naughty things. ______________________
1 bring into line: discipline e Give your child a warning before you smack them.
2 behind the times: old fashioned ______________________
3 give in: surrender f I’m not soft on discipline. ______________________
4 it never crossed my mind to: I never thought of
g You can’t reason with very young children.
5 cool off: calm down
6 got away with murder: were never punished ______________________
whatever they did h A small smack can soon become a hard hit.
7 make up: become friends again ______________________
i A smack defuses the tension. ______________________
Fact file j Don’t take your frustration out on a child.
• Smacking is banned in many countries.
______________________
• In England and Wales, you can legally give your
child ‘a light smack’, but you can be jailed if you
leave a bruise, a scratch or a cut on the child’s skin. Now disccuss the following.
a Who do you agree with, Alice or Claire?
b Do you think violence always leads to more violence?
As you read, match the words from the
c Should parents be sent to prison if they smack their
article 1–8 with their meanings a–h.
children, especially if they leave a bruise or a cut?
d If you had children (or young brothers and sisters),
1 outlawed a) promised
what rules and boundaries would you set them?
2 escalate b) hit (usually softly with your hand)
3 dreadful c) hit hard
Your group have been asked to take
4 vowed d) get worse part in a United Nations debate about
the rights of children. At the end of
5 childproof e) out of control
the discussion, the UN will draw up a
6 slap f) safe for children to use ten-point Children’s Charter.
7 thump g) really bad a In your group, come up with bullet points to
8 out of hand h) forbidden, made illegal complete these sentences.

• We should teach children to ...

Further information
The NSPCC (the National Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Children) website is www.NSPCC.org.uk.
• We shouldn’t teach children to ...
• A child has a right to ...
• A child has a right not to ...
b Share your ideas with the rest of the class.
c Now vote for the ten best suggestions.

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15 - Disciplining children 2/13/06 5:02 PM Page 43
NEWSPAPER ARTICLES TO GET TEENAGERS TALKING Moral issues
Should smacking ban get backing?
Most mothers believe the best way to discipline a naughty
child is with a sharp smack. But this way of bringing kids into
line could be banned.
Five European countries including Norway and Sweden
have already outlawed smacking. Germany and Scotland are
also considering a ban. So are we way behind the times and
should we find other ways to discipline children?
Child experts have mixed views. Penelope Leach, author
of best-selling Baby and Child, campaigns with anti-smacking
group EPOCH.
She says “Children learn from example and every time
you smack your child you tell him that aggression is okay.
“We all want our children to be self-disciplined but that
comes through setting good examples not through endless
punishment. The rule is to say no and mean it.”
Lynette Burrows, mother of six and author of Good
Children, says: “Smacking is the best way to deal with a
young child who doesn’t understand argument. It’s much less
harmful than using emotional punishment which can easily
escalate and damage a child.
“Spoilt children are dreadful and if you don’t smack your
child when he’s naughty he’s likely to be spoilt because you
are teaching him he can get away with things.
“It’s completely wrong for so-called experts to say they
know better than parents. And the problems if this law were
passed would be truly horrifying.”
Here, TESSA CUNNINGHAM talks to mothers with
opposing views.
YES Violence solves nothing
Nurse Alice Cook has vowed never to raise a hand to her
three-year-old son Jay – but she says that doesn’t mean she’s
soft on discipline.
Alice, 39, who lives with husband Mick in London, says:
“I would say I’m pretty firm with Jay. I set definite limits on
what he can and can’t do. He knows when I say no I mean it
and I’m not going to give in even if he whines.
“It’s much better to reward good behaviour and to teach
by example. There are some things I insist on like bedtimes
and brushing his teeth and I will not tolerate him hurting other
children or drawing on the walls.
“But if he disobeys I don’t punish him. I remove him from
the situation and explain to him why I think he has behaved
badly. For example he used to smack the cat. It never crossed
my mind to smack him back.
“Instead whenever he did it I gave the cat a big cuddle.
That showed Jay he wasn’t going to get any attention by
behaving naughtily and after a couple of weeks he stopped
doing it.
“I try to keep one step ahead. I’ve made my home as
childproof as I can and don’t run round making sure he
doesn’t break things.
© The Sun
“The child will remember being smacked but not why.
“You may start off with a light slap but if the child keeps
doing the same thing the thump will get harder. I definitely
believe smacking should be banned.
“Of course he makes me furious but it’s wrong to take out
your frustrations on your child by hitting him. Instead I leave
the room to cool off.”
NO It helps kids to behave
Claire Elford was a nanny for seven years before starting
her own family. Her job convinced her that naughty children
who are never smacked can end up spoilt. Claire, 27, lives in
London with husband Craig and children Amelia, three, and
18-month-old Archie.
She says, “The parents I worked for were often very soft
on discipline and didn’t believe in smacking so the kids got
away with murder.
“They would whine until they got what they wanted by
wearing their mums down. Many of them ended up spoilt
because they knew they could get away with things.
“I vowed that was not going to happen with my children.
I love them and I want them to grow up to be nice likeable
people – not little monsters who think they can always have
their own way.
“I definitely believe that light smacks are a very good way
to discipline small children.
“They are too young to be reasoned with and simply get
angry and frustrated if you sit them down and give them a
long lecture on rights and wrongs. When Amelia is naughty I
warn her not to carry on and if she persists I give her a light
smack on the hand. She may cry but then she comes for a
cuddle and we make up.
“Smacking defuses a situation. It’s much more scary for a
child to see her mum losing her temper than for the child to
have a quick smack before the situation gets out of hand.
“But certainly by the times she’s 10 I wouldn’t expect to be
smacking her.”
NEWSPAPER ARTICLES © SCHOLASTIC UK LTD. 43