Nursery World - Analysis: Sign up to ban on smacking

The law still stops short of protecting children from being physically punished. Pat Gordon-Smith calls for a more concerted campaign.

'I don't get sad, only when my mum smacks me.' That's what one four-year-old said during a study into young children's views about smacking. The comment had such an impact on researcher Elinor Milne that she chose it as the title for her final report commissioned by the Children Are Unbeatable! Alliance.

'The little girl who said this told me so many lovely things about her life and about her mum,' says Ms Milne. 'It wasn't always easy for the children to talk about this subject, but this child was a very bubbly character throughout our conversation, so I was surprised when she said this out of the blue - before I'd even mentioned the subject of smacking. It told me something about her experiences that I really hadn't expected.'

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