The case for smacking
When I first heard about the mother being charged, I almost cried. Young children can be very testing.
When you are in a shopping centre things can get very stressful and sometimes the only way a child will learn is if they are given a little bit of a smack.
It is unfortunate that in this circumstance it was on the ear and it is unfortunate that someone else has interfered, but my heart is breaking for the family.
These children are probably traumatised after they saw their mum taken away. What has happened is going to affect the children more, as they will either forget about the clip over the ear or they will learn by it. I got smacked when I was a kid and I have grown up to respect my parents, whom I love to bits.
I think we are cotton-wooling our kids a little bit too much and kids are getting away with a lot, which is probably why there are more discipline issues.
If something is very wrong, I would always give my kids a verbal warning and a quick 1, 2, 3. If they don't respond, if they know they are doing something they are not supposed to do and they do it anyway, that will determine whether I give them a smack on the bottom. If they are just not listening and it's not dangerous, they will get time out. Rebecca Stuart is a Ballajura mother of two
