Nursery World - MSPs support moves for ban on smacking

Members of the Scottish Parliament voted last week to lend their support to the Executive's proposals to clarify the law on physical punishment of children. The Executive proposes to ban the use of corporal punishment by all childcare and early education providers, including childminders. However, parents would still be allowed to set the ground rules for care in their homes, so the ban would not apply to nannies and babysitters.

The Executive proposes to ban the use of corporal punishment by all childcare and early education providers, including childminders. However, parents would still be allowed to set the ground rules for care in their homes, so the ban would not apply to nannies and babysitters.

The Executive has also proposed a complete ban on blows to the head, shaking children, the use of implements and smacking children under three, though it has stopped short of outlawing smacking altogether (News, 13 September). This has prompted criticisms that it is acting like a 'nanny state' and seeking to intervene in family life. At present, parents are allowed to use 'reasonable chastisement' to discipline children, but there are no precise definitions of what this includes.

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