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Hit and miss

The Government is standing firm in its refusal to outlaw the physical punishment of children in England- against a chorus of disapproval from childcare bodies around the country and abroad. Judith Napier hears them out Children are not fooled by the concept of the 'loving smack'. They know that what is actually going on is a big, powerful person hitting a smaller, less powerful one. As one child said, 'Smacking is what parents do when they hit you, only they call it a smack.'

Children are not fooled by the concept of the 'loving smack'. They know that what is actually going on is a big, powerful person hitting a smaller, less powerful one. As one child said, 'Smacking is what parents do when they hit you, only they call it a smack.'

That comment comes from a survey done by the National Children's Bureau and Save the Children among four- to seven-year-olds. The resulting paper, It Hurts You Inside - Children talking about smacking by Carolyne Willow and Tina Hyder, contains a number of frightening statistics - such as that 19 out of the 76 children consulted had been smacked on the head, face or cheek - and plenty of evidence that children believed physical punishment reinforced cycles of violent behaviour.

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