THE very thorny problem of whether or not parents should smack their children could soon be back centre stage in England.

Powers are being handed to Welsh leaders allowing them to take away the legal defences from parents using corporal punishment to discipline children.

This is likely to herald a smacking ban in Wales, which would also apply to visitors and could easily clear the way for a smacking ban in England and Scotland.

Currently, under Section 58 of the Children Act 2004, it’s unlawful for a parent or carer to smack their child, except where this amounts to “reasonable punishment” – although this isn’t defined in the legislation.

Each situation is deemed to be different and takes into account factors like the child’s age and the nature of the smack. Physical punishment is considered “unreasonable” if it leaves a mark or an implement like a cane or a belt is used.

A parent can still be charged with a criminal offence if they harm their child under various offences like wounding and causing grievous bodily harm or common assault and Actual Bodily Harm (ABH) or Grievous Bodily Harm (GBH) and GBH with Intent.

These days, many parents prefer in any case to use reason and/or threats to take away something precious like a bike or a phone. Younger children may be consigned to the “naughty step” or made to understand that their behaviour is wrong.

For many people, though, taking away the option to smack their child as chastisement amounts to an assault on their parental responsibilities. How, they argue, can a parent be held to account for a child’s bad behaviour if they are not allowed to administer punishment to stop it?

And I must admit that seeing precocious little darlings being lengthily “reasoned with” by mummy or daddy as their behaviour deteriorates even further is a frustrating business. Many parents of my era who were able to smack a naughty child within the law did so only rarely, and only when it was needed. This didn’t make it right, but it did work. As a result, many grandparents find the idea of a smacking ban wrong.

The problem, of course, is that some individuals will always take smacking too far or smack too often. And, as protecting children is really what parental and grand-parental care is about, we seem to have little choice but to support any smacking ban.