Parental spanking in the UK

[Nancy]

I'm not sure what the law is in the UK, but in Canada, the parent(s) would be required to attend "parenting" classes and the children would be placed on a watch list. They would likely remove the children from the home until the case was resolved.

[jamesbuilder]

It’s yet to be proven that the bruises were associated with the boy being spanked, we are supposed to have this lay in the UK that an acused individual is innocent until proven guilty so why is this dad being denied access to his children. Your hearts in the right place James but I don’t believe social services should be splitting up families for a bruise on a child’s bum

If it is proven that the bruise(s) were a result of spanking, then yes they should. That sounds like an abusive home to me. And, I don't know how child services in the UK work, but I knew a kid that went to my school that got taken from his parents for suspected abuse, and then it went to trial and I think they got convicted and he ended up with his aunt and uncle. The point being that child services shouldn't wait if they have a good reason to suspect that ongoing abuse is happening. Better to pull a kid for a short time from a loving family than to be wrong and allow a kid to remain in an abusive home.

[Alex]

UK law is opaque and open to interpretation deliberately some would say. Overiding everything is that any assault resulting in bruising etc is actionable. Although some say that if the assault was in the form of 'reasonable parental discipline' mild temporary bruising would probably be excusable.

On top of that is the amount of leeway available to the Crown Prosecution Service and the police as to whether or not to proceed with a legal case. There is less and less leeway (as if that leeway is given and the child turns up again as a victim of worse assault, imagine what the public reaction would be). But there is an awareness that a court case may actually do more harm than good (as it may make the child feel they are guilty). I think what we are seeing is an almost impossible situation for law enforcement agencies. Peronally I am very mindful of this when spanking so take care not to use implements such as the hair brush unnecessarily (I admit I have used one in the past and still have it as a nuclear option) so that marks from a spanking are temporary and generally no more than a reddened backside for a few hours.

Alex

[JohnB]

What I find odd and rather reprehensible is that parents in the UK and it seems Canada and almost every other European Union country are being effectively criminalised for spanking their children. I’m assuming that if social services called after I had spanked Becky or Louise and they seen a terarful girl with a red bottom irrespective of the fact that her bottom would return to normal in a few hours the children would be very likely whisked off into care which is far more traumatic than a simple spanking is ever going to be, in addition they would perhaps also see their father taken to jail and branded a child abuser.