'Back anti-smacking laws with education'

The national conference by Children are Unbeatable! in London last week called for a campaign to change public attitudes to the physical punishment of children similar to those on drink driving and wearing seatbelts in cars. The organisation, which is an alliance of more than 300 organisations, including the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC), the National Children's Bureau and Barnardo's, argued that such a campaign would only be fully effective if the law was behind it.

Alliance spokeswoman Claire Rayner, who also chaired the conference, said, 'To protect children, public education must go hand in hand with legal reform. This means big-budget advertising campaigns, and practical advice and support for parents, as well as changing the law to prevent children from being hit.' Phil Taverner, NSPCC area children's services manager, told delegates that Germany had shown recently that such a move was possible and said in November 2000 the German government had enacted a law that not only banned the smacking of children but also harming them psychologically or emotionally.