Be Reasonable England

We oppose attempts to criminalise parents who smack their children.

[GB News @GBNEWS]

'It's not a matter for the police!'

Dr Ashley Frawley discusses the effects of smacking children from a young age as discipline, amid calls to ban parents from punishing their children in this way.

[Be Reasonable England @BeReasonableEng]

The claims reported by @BBCNews today linking smacking to poorer GCSE results are terrible science and a dangerous distortion of the facts.

Time and again, research is selectively interpreted to justify calls for a ban.
https://t.co/fsE5tVQgnK

[Be Reasonable England @BeReasonableEng]

.@BrexitStewart highlighted a new review from @christianorguk, examining 37 peer-reviewed studies.
“Despite hysterical headlines suggesting one smack can ‘scar a child for life’, the review noted the studies… have never shown that physical punishment causes negative outcomes”

[Be Reasonable England @BeReasonableEng]

On Wednesday, Peers debated an amendment to the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill calling for a review of the Welsh smacking ban – an attempt to pressure the Westminster Government into outlawing smacking in England.

Here are some highlights from the debate.

[Be Reasonable England @BeReasonableEng]

.@ladylilo2 warned that removing the ‘reasonable chastisement defence’ “is another step towards a nanny state, where the balance between parental responsibility and state intervention is quietly but significantly shifted away from families and towards government control”

[Claire Fox @Fox_Claire]

I argued against an amendment to make England copy Wales and bring in a smacking ban. Inevitably, those who defended parents from being criminalised for chastising their own children, who they love, were accused by those who think the state knows best of endorsing child abuse. Grrr.

[Be Reasonable @reasonablewales]

It’s been three years since Wales banned smacking. Yesterday, the Welsh Govt published its assessment of the law — and the findings are alarming:
🚨Increased pressures on social services staff & police
🚨Parents are being criminalised
https://t.co/v4riHQdAo4

[Be Reasonable @reasonablewales]

🚨New report out assessing the first 3 years of the Welsh smacking ban. We found that 👇
1⃣Hundreds of parents have faced criminal sanctions
2⃣Thousands of families have been subjected to social services investigations
3⃣Millions of £ of social workers' time has been diverted

[The Christian Institute @christianorguk]

Sociologist Dr Ashley Frawley debates Kalani Kent over to what extent gentle smacking causes harm to children, with Dr Frawley noting that mental health issues within the family, and unstable family relationships are a greater indicator of long-term harm to children.

[Be Reasonable England @BeReasonableEng]

Be Reasonable’s Ciarán Kelly goes head to head with smacking ban campaigner Rosey Davidson on @SkyNews.

He warns that putting loving parents in the same camp as abusers is going to make it even harder for children in real danger to be helped.
https://t.co/mB88k5afJX

[Be Reasonable England @BeReasonableEng]

Sociologist Dr @AshleyAFrawley responds to celebrity calls for an English smacking ban @TalkTV
She argues that a mum should be able to tap her toddler on the hand to make a point without her life being ruined by being convicted of criminal assault
https://t.co/3JhRenDgRj

[Be Reasonable England @BeReasonableEng]

A smacking ban “does a grave injustice to good parents by making them out to be abusers when they're not”.

Be Reasonable's Simon Calvert speaks to @TalkTV's @iancollinsuk about the NSPCC's latest calls for an English smacking ban.
https://t.co/BjWWy3B83V

[Be Reasonable England @BeReasonableEng]

Our spokesman Simon Calvert warns Radio 2 listeners that a smacking ban will put thousands of parents each year in the cross-hairs of the criminal justice system for nothing more than tapping a child on the back of the hand.

[Be Reasonable England @BeReasonableEng]

1⃣“Current legislation already provides statutory safeguards that protect children from physical harm.
2⃣“Banning reasonable chastisement would criminalise ordinary mums and dads while squandering scarce frontline resources.”

[Be Reasonable England @BeReasonableEng]

“Measures such as smacking bans... come wrapped in the language of ‘safeguarding,’ yet they erode parental autonomy while sidestepping the real crises”
https://t.co/oPkdZKBCB8

[Be Reasonable England @BeReasonableEng]

The Govt has rejected the latest attempt to criminalise loving parents in England who lightly discipline their children.
https://t.co/StQwi6bRcX

[Be Reasonable England @BeReasonableEng]

A mum who taps their tot on the back of the hand—that is the kind of reasonable parental discipline that smacking ban campaigners want to criminalise, warns Be Reasonable’s Simon Calvert.
@BBCLookNorth