There spanking when the child exaggerates with extreme tantrums and very bad behavior? “Never. Even in Italy they should be expressly prohibited“. It’s theappeal launched by pediatrician Italo Farnetani. The topic of physical punishment has once again returned to the spotlight in recent days in the UK, in the wake of the position taken by the paediatricians of the Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health (Rcpch), in a report which exposes all the “health, educational and lawyers” in support of a legislative change aimed at removing the concept of ‘reasonable punishment’ and “prohibiting all physical punishment of children in England and Northern Ireland”. And in fact, the British white coats observed, if Scotland and Wales are among the “over 60 countries in the world that have adopted measures to guarantee children the same protection from aggression as adults”, in England and Ireland Nord continues “a parent can use the defense of ‘reasonable punishment’ to justify the physical punishment of a child in certain circumstances”, for example in the case of a slap or a punch.
What’s happening in Great Britain
The problem raised across the Channel, as explained by RCPCH expert Andrew Rowland, concerns the “vague nature of the laws” in question and highlights that “there must be no gray areas when it comes to protecting children”, urging changes to the regulations in England and Northern Ireland to ensure “absolute clarity” that “there are no cases where it is acceptable or legal to slap a child”. On the Italian front, Farnetani says he is “in perfect agreement with his English colleagues”, he explains to Adnkronos Salute. Spanking should be banned “not only for reasons of pedagogical choice, but even more so to avoid violence towards children, to avoid authoritarianism on the part of the adults involved (parents, teachers)”.
In other words, “any type of corporal punishment against a child or adolescent is a form of violence, oppression and authoritarianism and has no justification from a psycho-pedagogical point of view”, highlights the full professor of pediatrics at Ludes University-United Campus of Malta. “It only makes the child’s self-esteem fall and certainly has no educational effects. Nobody should adopt them, least of all parents. Because if they do, they are violent, not authoritative parents. Authoritative parents set limits for their children: they are the famous ones’ no, they help us grow'”.
“Limits are fundamental for the child’s education and parents must set them and make their children respect them, but they must do so by explaining the reasons, carrying out a dialogue and convincing them of the reasons why they have imposed rules. The authoritative parent does not he needs the violence of the beatings to educate his son, therefore, but the continuous dialogue with them”, continues Farnetani.
In the report by British paediatricians, they delve into the negative health impacts of physical punishment during childhood, explaining that these effects are “well documented”. Children who experience physical punishment are “nearly three times (2.6 times) more likely to develop poorer mental health and are more than twice (2.3 times) as likely to experience severe physical aggression and abuse. Physical punishment increases also the likelihood of behavioral problems in childhood, poorer relationships with parents and family, and instances of aggression later in life.”
“Parents must explain the limits imposed and enforce them precisely without resorting to anything other than firm and authoritative words. Because it must not be forgotten that violence gives rise to violence. And even a spanking sends a message in this sense”. In practice, it communicates to children that force can be used to obtain compliance with the rules. And, concludes Farnetani, “rather than obtaining results, these parents will have the opposite effect of raising violent children”.
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